Peterborough

“ The latter, indeed, would be flooded over if human energy were to cease in protecting them for one single year. The most curious feature in these vast dreary flats is the splendour of the ecclesiastical buildings that rise up above the horizons at great distances. Peterborough is hardly out of sight before the towers of Ely appear, vast and gray. ”

“ Before the advent of the railroad, Peterborough, like Wells, was merely an ecclesiastical town, with little excuse for existence save its cathedral. In the last fifty years, however, the population has increased five-fold and it has become quite on important trading and manufacturing center. It is situated in the midst of the richest farm country in England and its annual wool and cattle markets are known throughout the Kingdom. The town dates from the year 870, when the first cathedral minster was built by the order of one of the British chieftains. ”

“ Among the privileges claimed by the abbot as early as the 13th century was that of having a prison for felons taken in the soke and borough. In 1576 Bishop Scamble sold the lordship of the hundred of Nassaburgh, which is coextensive with the soke, to Queen Elizabeth, who gave it to Lord Burghley, and from that time until the 19th century he and his descendants, marquesses of Exeter, had a separate gaol in Peterborough for prisoners arrested in the soke. The trades of weaving and wool combing were carried on in Peterborough in the 14th century. ”

“ Probably nobody speaks or thinks of Peterborough cathedral without immediately associating it with its glorious west front. Many believe that there is little else in the building that is worthy of any particular attention. And yet nowhere in the kingdom is there to be found a finer and more complete Norman church. Arches, windows, mouldings, more elaborate and more grand may no doubt be found elsewhere; but where else can we find, as here, choir, transepts, and nave, with all the original Norman, from ground to roof, with two insignificant exceptions, remaining unaltered? ”

“ But most of all, Lord Peterborough failed to attain that place in the list of British worthies to which his genius and his bravery should have raised him, because that genius was directed by no steady aim or purpose. Lord Peterborough is, indeed, one of the most striking instances in history of genius and talent wasted, and a life thrown away by want of fixed principle and by an inability or unwillingness to work with other men. ”

“ Peterborough married, in 1644, Lady Penelope O'Brien, daughter of Barnabas, sixth earl of Thomond, by whom he had two daughters: Elizabeth, who died unmarried, and Mary, who married Henry Howard, seventh duke of Norfolk [q. v.] , from whom she was divorced in 1700. The Countess of Peterborough was groom of the stole to Mary of Modena, and survived till April 1702. ”

“ We crossed the bridge over the Otonabee, in the rising town of Peterborough, at eight o'clock in the morning. Winter had now set in fairly. The children were glad to huddle together in the bottom of the sleigh, under the buffalo skins and blankets; all but my eldest boy, who, just turned of five years old, was enchanted with all he heard and saw, and continued to stand up and gaze around him. Born in the forest, which he had never quitted before, the sight of a town was such a novelty that he could find no words wherewith to express his astonishment.
“Are the houses come to see one another?” ”

“ From Stamford to Peterborough is a country of the same description, with the additional beauty of woods here and there, and with meadows just like those at Huntingdon, and not surpassed by those on the Severn near Worcester, nor by those on the Avon at Tewkesbury. The cathedral at Peterborough is exquisitely beautiful, and I have great pleasure in saying, that, contrary to the more magnificent pile at Ely, it is kept in good order; the Bishop (Herbert Marsh) residing a good deal on the spot ”

“ No man ever spoke more disparagingly of Marlborough than his enemy, Lord Peterborough, though even he did justice to Marlborough’s abilities; but Lord Peterborough was especially severe on the duke’s love of money. The latter spent wisely, the former squandered profusely, and374 cheated his heirs. The duke in the Bath-rooms, dunning a dean for sixpence, is not so degrading a picture as Peterborough, in the Bath market, cheapening commodities, and walking about in his blue ribbon and star, with a fowl in his hand and a cabbage or a cauliflower under either arm. ”

“ Professor Freeman says: [21] —"The portico of Peterborough is unique; the noblest conception of the old Greek translated into the speech of Christendom and of England has no fellow before it or after it." Exclusive of the spires, and the central porch and parvise, the dates of which have been given previously, the whole is of the best and purest Early English style. The effect is certainly improved by the middle arch being narrower than the others. But if the gables above had been of unequal angles, the result would have been far less satisfactory. ”

“ London, like South Bend itself, is a city of clean streets and admirable sidewalks, and has an excellent water supply. One is at once struck by the number of excellent and well-appointed motor cars that one sees on every hand, the neatness of the shops and the cleanliness and cheerfulness of the faces of the people. In short, as an English visitor said of Peterborough, Ontario, there is a distinct note of optimism in the air. ”

“ Those in Peterborough are formed of two hoops fastened together to form a globe and a stick or stave through the centre. The hoops are decorated with flowers and ribbons, and when the children possess one, the best doll is fixed on the stick inside the garland. Two girls carry the garland which is carefully covered with a white cloth. This is lifted at the houses and the wondrous garland is exposed whilst the children sing the following song, which is the favourite May Day song in the City. ”

“ The funeral service was performed by the Dean of Peterborough; the prebendaries and choir of the Cathedral then sang an anthem, after which a sermon was preached by Wickham, Bishop of Lincoln. The officers having broken their staves and cast them into the vault, and the offerings appointed having been made to the Bishop and Dean and Chapter of Peterborough, the nobility and officers, who had attended the funeral, returned to the bishop's palace, where a sumptuous repast was provided, after which they all returned to their respective homes. ”

“ This nobleman, whose enmity towards Marlborough became afterwards conspicuous, was at this time one of the numerous votaries of the arrogant Duchess. Lord Peterborough’s extravagances gave a meteor-like celebrity to his general character. Among many of the celebrated individuals who illumined the age, he would, nevertheless, have been eminent, even had his course been less peculiar, and his deportment like that of ordinary men. ”

“ Those of Lincoln and Peterborough are, however, more interesting in the picturesqueness and singularity of their composition. The first-named forms a vast arcaded 228 screen, masking the bases of the two western towers, and pierced by three huge Norman arches, retained from the original façade. The west front of Peterborough is likewise a mask or screen, mainly composed of three colossal recessed arches, whose vast scale completely dwarfs the little porches which give admittance to the church. Salisbury has a curiously illogical and ineffective façade. ”

“ Thence by coach with my Lords Peterborough and Sandwich to my Lord Peterborough's house; and there, after an hour's looking over some fine books of the Italian buildings, with fine cuts; and also my Lord Peterborough's bowes and arrows, of which he is a great lover, we sat down to dinner, my Lady coming down to dinner also, and there being Mr. Williamson, that belongs to Sir H. Bennet, whom I find a pretty understanding and accomplished man, but a little conceited. ”

“ The Peterborough Society, established by Archdeacon Neve, lived sufficiently long to enable it to complete two or more volumes of minutes, becoming known as the Peterborough Book Society in 1810. It has now ceased to exist. The Brazenose Society at Stamford, established by Dr. Stukeley, did not long prosper, and an effort to revive it some time afterwards appears to have completely failed. Of the other societies little, if anything, is known. The Gentlemen’s Society at Spalding is probably the only survivor. ”

“ The old parish church of St John originally stood to the east of the cathedral, but was rebuilt on its present site in the centre of the city (1401–1407) in Perpendicular style. The educational establishments include the Henry VIII. grammar or chapter school, which used the chapel of St Thomas à Becket until 1885, the St Peter’s training college for schoolmasters for the dioceses of Peterborough, Ely and Lincoln, erected from designs of Sir Gilbert Scott (1864) ; and Deacon’s and Ireland’s charity school, established in 1721 for the clothing and educating of twenty poor boys. ”

“ These are G.A. Poole, formerly Vicar of Welford, whose paper on the Abbey Church of Peterborough was published among the Transactions of the Architectural Society of the Archdeaconry of Northampton in 1855, and the late Professor F.A. Paley, a second edition of whose pamphlet, "Remarks on the Architecture of Peterborough Cathedral," was issued in 1859. It by no means detracts from the value of the method employed that the results of the investigations of these two careful students of the fabric do not accord with one another. Much must always be left to inference or conjecture. ”

“ The modern prosperity and rapid growth of the town are chiefly due to the trade caused by the junction of so many railway lines. Adjoining the town are extensive works and sheds connected with the Great Northern and Midland railways. The principal manufacture is that of agricultural implements The parliamentary borough returns one member (since 1885) . The municipal borough, incorporated in 1874, is under a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 1878 acres. The soke or liberty of Peterborough, with a population of 41,192, constitutes a separate administrative county (1888) . ”

“ In Philip, Duke of Wharton, the world beheld, happily, almost the last of that series of rich, profligate, bold, and desperate men, who, like the second Buckingham, gilded a few fair points of character by the aid of resplendent talents. It was the destiny of Lord Peterborough to reap disappointment and chagrin from the seed which he had sown in the mind of his eldest son and heir, John Lord Mordaunt, whom he survived. [4]
7The regard of Lord Peterborough at this period for the Duchess of Marlborough was as assiduous as his enmity towards her and the Duke became afterwards remarkable. ”

“ In his later years Peterborough gratified his pride and amused his leisure by compiling, with the assistance of his chaplain, 'Succinct Genealogies of the Noble and Ancient Houses of Alno or De Alneto, Latimer of Duntish, Drayton of Drayton, Mauduit of Werminster, Greene of Drayton, Vere of Addington, Fitz-Lewes of Westhornedon, Howard of Effingham, and Mordaunt of Turvey. ”

“ The garrison, commanded by the archduke, defended their positions with great bravery, but would have been obliged to surrender had not the fleet of Sir John Leake, answering the appeals of Charles but contrary to the original orders of Peterborough, come to their assistance on the 8th of May, whereupon the French raised the siege on the 11th of May. It is difficult to understand the action of Peterborough during this campaign, unless on the supposition that he was out of sympathy with the movement for placing an Austrian prince on the throne of Spain. ”

“ There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of Peterborough. This is largely due to the fact that they were over-shadowed by the glory and successes of Marlborough. ”

“ Hereward was a tenant in a small way of the abbey of Peterborough. What led him into such a determined revolt we do not know, unless he was among those who were induced to join the Danes after their arrival, in the belief that their invasion would be successful. Nor do we know what collected in the Isle of Ely a band of men whom the Peterborough chronicler was probably not wrong, from any point of view, in calling outlaws. A force of desperate men could hope to maintain themselves for some time in the Isle of Ely ”

“ Arrived at Peterborough, we found the population so far behind the American age, that they would not allow a railroad to pass through their town; we were consequently constrained to shift into omnibuses, and drive some three miles to the station on the other side. ”

“ The last abbot became the first bishop.
It is remarkable that of the two queens buried at Peterborough, the body of one has been removed to Westminster by the orders of her son, and that a similar removal had been previously designed for the body of the other. Queen Katherine's daughter, Queen Mary, left directions in her will that "the body of the virtuous Lady and my most dere and well-beloved mother of happy memory, Queen Kateryn, which lyeth now buried at Peterborowh," should be removed and laid near the place of her own sepulture, and that honourable monuments should be made for both. ”

“ A. v., where it is ascribed in a late hand to 'Johannes Abbas,' but there was no abbot of that name at Peterborough between 1263 and 1408. Abbot John de Caleto [q. v.] died in the former year, and John Deeping became abbot in the latter (Dugdale, Monasticon, i. 356-361) . John of Peterborough must therefore be regarded as an imaginary person. Simon Patrick, in his appendix to Gunton's 'History of the Church of Peterborough' (p. 312) , ascribed the chronicle to John de Caleto, and the later portion of it, from 1259, has been assigned to Robert of Boston. ”