From the Titanic tragedy and old burial grounds, to sporting greats and religious saints – 36 blue plaques across Peterborough serve as important historic markers for the city.
The plaques are the result of a project by Peterborough Civic Society (PCS), which began back in 2017 to commemorate the people and places of the past. With support from the National Lottery and Heritage Fund and Peterborough County Council, all 36 plaques were created and installed between 2017 and 2020.
Toby Wood, of PCS, said: "We wanted to provide a focus for people visiting Peterborough from near and far and hopefully it will whet their appetite so that they want to come back to the city again and again.
"People often go to Cathedral Square and think ‘what now?’ These blue plaques give them focus.”
Plaques include those for religious martyr Saint Thomas Becket, a 600 year-old building, a former jail, and several individuals whose achievements helped to shape modern Peterborough.
Mr Wood has put together a comprehensive booklet guide to the blue plaques, with a handy map to locate them all. To view this, visit the Peterborough Civic Society’s website.
Concluding, Mr Wood added: “One thing I’ve noticed, and I'm sure it is the case all around the country, is that fewer and fewer people are visiting shops in the city, so what's happening now in many cases is that local people are going around and discovering their own area the same way that visitors might seek out local history."
1. The King's (The Cathedral) School
The school was founded in 1541 by King Henry VIII. Originally situated in the Minister Precincts, it later moved to its current location at Park Road in 1885.Photo: Peterborough Civic Society
2. The Sage Family
John and Annie Sage lived at Gladstone Street and ran a bakery until deciding to emigrate to the US. They and their nine children were lost in the Titanic sinking in 1912 - the greatest loss of life from one family during the disaster.Photo: Peterborough Civic Society
3. Marjorie Pollard
Marjorie Pollard OBE (1899 - 1982) played hockey for England from 1921-37 and, in 1926, helped to found the Women's Cricket Association. Pictured with the plaques are PCS members Peter Lee and Henry Duckett.Photo: Peterborough Civic Society
4. The Great Barn
Near this site in Lincoln Road stood the 14th century Great Barn of Peterborough Abbey's Boroughbury Grange. Demolished in 1892, stone from the barn forms the plinth of this terrace.Photo: Gemma Gadd