Maundy Money Distributed
Information
1975: Several thousand people lined the streets and 3,00 were inside the cathedral this Maundy Thursday when Elizabeth II, accompanied by Prince Phillip, made the first royal visit by a reigning monarch to the cathedral for over 100 years. She was there to distribute the traditional Maundy money. Historically the recipients were chosen for their poverty and were entitled to remain as Maundy recipients for life; today, new recipients are chosen every year for service to their churches or communities, on the recommendation of the clergymen of various Christian denominations. One man and one woman are chosen for each year the queen has lived (including the year she is currently living), and they receive Maundy money in denominations of one penny, two pence, three pence and four pence, equivalent in pence to that number of years. On this day there were 98 recipients - 49 men and 49 women - including Alderman Mrs Maud Swift, a previous city mayor. A set of Maundy money can be seen in the cathedral and Mrs Swift's Maundy money is displayed in the Mayor's Parlour at the Town Hall. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh would return on the same date in 1988 to attend the 750th anniversary service of the consecration of the cathedral building. (Harper-Tee, John, 'The Peterborough Story', Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 1992)
Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.