1154/55: Following the death of Abbot Martin de Bec, 'all the congregation met to choose a man among them who should be their father and shepherd, and guardian lest by reason of their delay some stranger should make his way in by payment of bribes'. They chose William de Waterville. All formalities and procedures were followed and on this first Sunday of Lent, 'with a great procession he was welcomed into his own home of Burch (the name of Peterborough at that time)'. (Mellows, W.T.,The Peterborough Chronicle of Hugh Candidus, Peterborough Museum Society, 1980)
Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press,2014.
For some time during the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the market place in Peterborough was known as Market Hill.
The earliest reference from the papers is an advert from 1736 for the letting of 'An old-accustom'd Grocer's Shop... situate upon the Market Hill in Peterborough'.
A reference to the Talbot Inn from 1774 states it is 'on the market hill'. This continued until an 1898 reference to J. A. Bingham, Auctioneer of Market Hill, Peterborough. Currently the area is known as Cathedral Square.
Cambridge and Chatteris still use the word hill for their market places. It certainly is an odd choice of word for towns in areas with little or no hills!
Source: Stamford Mercury, Thursday 5th August 1736, page 4, col 1