1903: Today saw an extension to Peterborough's growing tram network when the service to Newark began, the trams travelling along the Eastfield Road. The driver - the motorman - had to stand in an open area to drive the tram and was exposed to all weathers. He worked a ten-hour shift, six days a week, at a rate of 5d an hour, which provided him with a weekly wage of 25s. (Peterborough Advertiser)
Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.
In 1576 Elizabeth I passed the title of Lord Paramount of the Liberty of Peterborough from the Bishop of Peterborough to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, whose descendants still hold this title.
Peterborough Cathedral has two well-known connections to Tudor Queens. The tombs of both Katherine of Aragon and Mary Queen of Scots could for a while both be found in the Cathedral. Sadly, Mary Queen of Scots was moved down to Westminster, but Queen Katherine is still resting in peace.
Most people think that is where the connections to Tudor royalty end, but that is not so. In 1560 William Lattimer or Latymer, became Dean of Peterborough Cathedral. He had been chaplain to Anne Boleyn during her reign and had smuggled French religious books into the country for her. Later, he became chaplain to Elizabeth I and wrote the Chronickille of Anne Bulleyne (Chronicle of Anne Boleyn) a biography of her life. He wrote the book for Elizabeth I, her daughter.
Lattimer died in 1583 and was buried in Peterborough Cathedral.
Maxey Castle was built by Sir William de Thorp around 1370 and was a small defensible castle. The castle buildings have long disappeared, but many documents relate to the house and land. There are remaining earthworks that hint at the former majesty of the site which include a moat and fish ponds.
The castle, or manor, sat on an island in the middle of a large moat, which remains on three sides. A drawing exists of the castle from 1543 suggesting it consisted of a keep or tower surrounded by high stone walls and towers. However, it was only in use for a couple of hundred years before falling into disrepair. Some of the stones may have gone to Conington and been incorporated in a castle there.1
Documents in national and local record collections detail the leasing of lands around Maxey Castle to Richard Cecil by Henry VIII who was also 'Constable or Warden of Maxey Castle and Bailiff of the lordship of Maxey'.2 Later the lands were leased to William Cecil by Princess Elizabeth; items leased included 'Ladiebridgclose' in Maxey and the 'greate garden of Le Marre'3 which was part of the grounds of Maxey Castle. They originally belonged to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, who was Henry VIII's grandmother and owned many properties in the area.
The site is scheduled and in private hands, so it is not possible to view the remaining moat, which is now obscured by trees. However, a public footpath does take walkers close to old fish ponds belonging to the castle.
References:
Born in 1555 during the reign of Queen Mary I, Thomas Dove became chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I who was so taken by his ecclesiastic style that she referred to him as 'the dove with silver wings.' After working as a vicar in Saffron Walden and as Dean of Norwich Cathedral, he moved to Peterborough, where he was confirmed as Bishop on 21st April 1601.
He remained as bishop for 29 years, overseeing the removal of Mary Queen of Scots' body to London during his administration. During that time he was also Rector of Castor Church, as all Bishops of Peterborough were from 1613-1851 : he was the first to hold both positions together.
His son Sir William Dove of Upton commissioned a large memorial for his burial in Peterborough Cathedral in which he wore long ecclesiastic gowns and was laying with books around him. Sadly, the monument was destroyed during the civil war and his son had died in 1635, so it was not replaced, however, this is not the only item that survives from his life. In 1850 a wax imprint of the seal belonging to Bishop Dove was donated to The British Museum, which shows a country tableau of a man feeding a dove and another hitting a snake, with the distinctive cross keys of the city clearly displayed. The seal would have been pressed into wax to secure correspondence and make documents official. The original seal was put up for auction in 2016 and was made from bronze and leather.
He should also be remembered for his home in Upton, near Castor, where he erected a very unusual sundial, which has been identified as Scottish in origin. The very striking large stone structure must have been difficult to transport to Upton, being nearly 6ft tall, not to mention expensive. It is grade II listed and currently sits in a paddock which can be viewed from the village green.
References
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dove,_Thomas_(DNB00)
The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle Vol 66 Part 2, July 1796 p539-541 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=46BJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA541&lpg=PA541&dq=thomas+dove+upton&source=bl&ots=V61WpRL6rO&sig=ACfU3U3PhUNlKajKq5nfI6ogNC9B_v3kZg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiz5cLz9JLgAhWOURUIHZ4bBcEQ6AEwCXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=thomas%20dove%20upton&f=false
Sir Walter Mildmay was educated at Cambridge and became an important figure in royal court proceedings and as an MP. In 1553, in the first year of the reign of Queen Mary, Mildmay was elected MP for Peterborough, having recently gained Apethorpe Hall (now Palace). He was a good friend of William Cecil of Burghley (who had not started building Burghley House yet) and he appears to also have been a good friend of Sir William Fitzwilliam II who had inherited his family estate at Milton and was a fellow MP for Peterborough in 1553; his daughter Winifred married Sir William’s son, also called William. He was also involved in the life and death of Mary Queen of Scots, visiting her with Cecil at Chatsworth and at nearby Fotheringhay, shortly before her execution.
Mildmay gained Apethorpe in 1551 after swapping lands he owned with King Edward VI, Apethorpe having been owned by Henry VIII. Queen Elizabeth I visited Mildmay there in 1562, with an engraving left on a chimney breast to commemorate the occasion, visiting twice more after that. We can also imagine rousing conversations between Mildmay, Cecil, Fitzwilliam and other Tudor dignitaries in some of the Tudor parts of Apethorpe that still stand today. The atmospheric Chapel and Hall are two very fine features of the original Tudor house that remain and can be viewed on guided tours of the house in the summer months with English Heritage.
References:
M. R. P., Fitzwilliam, William (c. 1550-1618), of Dogsthorpe and Milton Northants, The History of Parliament Online, <historyofparliamentonline.org> [accessed 11 February 2021].
S. M. Thorpe and R. J. W. Swales, Mildmay, Walter (by 1523-89), of Apethorpe Northants. and London, The History of Parliament Online, <historyofparliamentonline.org> [accessed 11 February 2021].
Apethorpe Palace, Wikipedia (2021) <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apethorpe_Palace> [accessed 11 February 2021].
Walter Mildmay, Wikipedia (2020) <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mildmay> [accessed 11 February 2021].
Image: Paul van Somer I, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Peterborough Cathedral has two well-known connections to Tudor Queens. T…
Sir Walter Mildmay was educated at Cambridge and became an important fig…