Peterborough
As was the case with Wells, Peterborough would have had no existence but
for its cathedral, which was reared in the midst of the fertile fen
country near the slow-flowing river Ness. But the coming of the railways
has roused the country town, and in the last fifty years its population
has increased fivefold. It is situated in a rich agricultural district,
and has a good trade in farm products. Its annual wool and cattle
markets are well known in the eastern counties.
On the site of the present cathedral a minster was built in 870 by a
king of Mercia. On its being destroyed by Danes, a new building was
erected, which was burned down in 1116. The foundations of the Saxon
church can be seen in the crypt. The new Norman building was consecrated
in 1237, and has remained with few alterations to the present day. While
the interior of St. Albans Cathedral shows every phase of Norman and
Gothic architecture, that of Peterborough is remarkable as showing
practically one style throughout the entire building. The west front has
been described as the “grandest portico in Europe.” It is Early English
in style, and the finest feature of the cathedral. Its three colossal
arches are flanked and strengthened by two turreted towers with spires.
It needs a close observer to perceive that the central gable of the west
front is smaller than the side ones, for the difficulty has been
cleverly overcome. The northern gable and part of the arch below have
been repaired very carefully amid an outcry from all parts of England
against the restoration. However, the work was proved to be necessary,
as the mortar had crumbled to dust, and many stones were merely resting
one on the other. The Perpendicular Galilee Porch over the small doorway
adds strength to the façade. The room over it is used as a library.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the interior is the
twelfth-century wooden vaulting of the nave. There is no Lady Chapel at
the east end as is usually the case. When the ritual demanded a
retro-choir for processions, the Norman apse fortunately was not pulled
down, but the new building, Tudor in style, and with a beautiful
stone-vaulted roof, was built round it. After Ely’s Tower fell, the
Norman central tower of Peterborough was pulled down as if a similar
fate was feared for it, and a shorter tower was erected in its place.
Two queens have been buried in the church, namely, Catherine of Arragon
and Mary Queen of Scots. The remains of both queens have been removed to
Westminster Abbey.
Other places worth visiting in Peterborough are the Parish Church and a
well-preserved thirteenth-century manor-house at Longthorpe.
[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL
The magnificent west front, which has recently been restored.]
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Preface •
Ham House and Petersham •
Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle) •
Harrow •
Holwood House, Keston •
Chigwell, Essex •
Waltham Abbey and Cross •
Downe •
Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts •
Epping Forest •
Hampton Court •
Rye House, Broxbourne •
Hatfield House, Herts •
Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta •
The Oldest Brass in England •
St. Albans •
Stoke Poges Church, Bucks •
Windsor •
Jordans and William Penn •
Knole House and Sevenoaks •
Greenstead Church •
Chalfont St. Giles •
Westerham •
Guildford, Surrey •
Gad’s Hill •
Ightham Mote, Kent •
Penshurst •
St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion •
Rochester Cathedral •
Tunbridge Wells •
The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey •
Eversley •
Farnham, Surrey •
Hindhead, Surrey •
Shottermill •
Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex •
Chawton the Home of Jane Austen •
Selborne •
Elstow •
Lewes, Sussex •
Bodiam Castle, Sussex •
Colchester, Essex •
Layer Marney •
Battle Abbey •
Cambridge •
Arundel Castle •
Olney, Bucks •
Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great •
Canterbury and Its Cathedral •
Reculvers •
Oxford •
Midhurst •
Pevensey Castle •
Savernake Forest •
Ely Cathedral •
St. Ives, Huntingdonshire •
Winchelsea and Rye •
Blenheim Palace •
Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland •
Peterborough •
Southampton •
Helmingham Hall •
Stonehenge, Wiltshire •
Netley Abbey •
Salisbury and Its Cathedral •
Sandwich, Kent •
New Forest, Hampshire •
Osborne House •
Carisbrooke Castle •
Lutterworth •
Compton Wynyates •
Kenilworth Castle •
Belvoir Castle •
Bath •
Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers •
Warwick •
Gloucester and Its Cathedral •
Norfolk Broads •
Norwich Cathedral •
Lichfield •
Sherborne and Its Abbey Church •
Newark •
Wells and Its Cathedral •
Stratford-On-Avon •
Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk •
Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire •
Corfe Castle •
Lincoln and Its Cathedral •
Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson •
Glastonbury Abbey •
Walsingham, Norfolk •
Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset •
Newstead Abbey •
The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances •
Tintern Abbey •
Chesterfield, Derbyshire •
Dukeries •
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire •
The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor •
Raglan Castle •
Dovedale •
Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire •
Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop •
Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire •
Ludlow and Its Castle •
Shrewsbury •
Buxton and the Peak District •
Tewkesbury •
Exeter and Its Cathedral •
Market Drayton, Salop •
Chester •
Exmoor •
Knutsford •
Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset •
Cleeve Abbey, Somerset •
Hawarden •
York Minster •
Coxwold, Yorkshire •
Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey •
Knaresborough, Dripping Well •
Fountains Abbey •
Ripon Cathedral •
Dartmoor •
Haworth •
Rievaulx Abbey •
Brixham, Devon •
Conway Castle •
The Doone Valley, Exmoor •
Llandovery, South Wales •
Dartmouth, Devon •
Richmond, Yorkshire •
Tintagel •
Whitby •
Carnarvon Castle •
Plymouth •
Durham and Its Cathedral •
Raby Castle, Durham •
Snowdon •
Harlech Castle •
Grasmere and Rydal Mount •
The Lake District •
St. Davids Cathedral •
Furness Abbey, Lancashire •
Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow •
The Isle of Man •
Brantwood •
Fowey •
Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall •
The Lake District •
Keswick •
Alnwick Castle •
Lanercost Priory, Cumberland •
Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.] •
St. Ives, Cornwall •
Bamborough Castle, Northumberland
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