Peterborough has always had its share of fascinating characters, but few were quite as unforgettable as Ethel Granger.
A life in dates
- 1905Born at Milton, near Cambridge
- 1929The ten-year waist reduction begins, from 22 inches
- 1939Measured in Peterborough at 13 inches
- 1970Bill photographs Comet Bennett from their home observatory
- 1982Ethel dies
The record
Born at Milton, near Cambridge, in 1905, Ethel became world famous after appearing in the Guinness Book of Records for having the smallest recorded waist.
13inches
Measured in Peterborough in 1939, following a ten-year reduction from 22 inches.
More than a record
Yet Ethel’s story is far more than one extraordinary record. A trained dressmaker and tailor, she became a skilled corsetier and developed a striking personal style that made her one of the most distinctive figures of her time.
She rode a motorcycle, toured Britain with her husband, William Arnold Granger, and embraced multiple ear piercings long before body modification became part of mainstream fashion or alternative culture.
Bill and the observatory
Ethel and William lived at 58 Priory Road, Peterborough.
From his home observatory, he studied the night sky, photographed celestial events including Comet Bennett in 1970, and helped inspire generations of local stargazers through the Peterborough Astronomical Society.
A remarkable pair
The couple were remembered as remarkable Peterborough characters: creative, unconventional, intelligent, and deeply individual. Bill was rarely seen without his cat, Treacle Pudding, perched on his shoulder, while Ethel’s corseted silhouette and self-fashioned identity made her a pioneer of personal expression.
Her place in the story
Ethel Granger’s life belongs to the wonderfully odd, colourful, and human side of Peterborough’s history. She reminds us that local history is not only made by kings, cathedrals, battles, and grand buildings.
Sometimes it is made by people who lived differently, dressed differently, looked up at the stars, and left behind stories that still make us stop, smile, and say: “Only in Peterborough.”