1941: Following a Ministry of Home Security circular on the carrying of gas masks, a Mrs Mellows organised four lectures aimed principally at housewives of active servicemen, on how to handle a gas situation. The second talk was held on this day. Each lecture covered: latest information about gas attacks; first aid for gas casualties; how to protect yourself and dealing with incendiary bombs and fires. All lectures were very well attended. (Gray, David, Peterborough at War 1939-1945, David Gray, 2011)
Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.
The area to the south of Ailsworth and Castor villages is known as Normangate Field. It was the site of extensive Roman pottery and metal working workshops. The Roman road of Ermine Street runs through the area. It can be seen today as a massive bank of earth concealed underneath several hundred years of repeated road surfacing. The potteries here gave their name to the distinctive Roman pottery known at Castor Ware. Interpretation from 2018 has revealed that the Normangate Fields contained a complex and thriving community. The location of the fields put the pottery and metal workers in an excellent position. They were near the Praetorium, Durobrivae and Rive Nene for water-based transport. Also, not only were they straddling Ermine Street, but King Street too. It is possible that King Street was once much more important than Ermine Street based on the location of the workers.
The Romans are first credited with making bricks in Britain. Their bricks were usually a red colour and often black inside. They look different to modern bricks because they were made by hand and were lots of different shapes and styles. Some look like tiles and others look like long thin bricks the length of one or two feet. Plenty of Roman bricks have been discovered in the Peterborough area, many of which would have been made in the Normangate Field area south of Castor and Ailsworth. If you want to see Roman bricks in a building, a visit to the Jewry Wall in Leicester is recommended.
The image is of local, but not Roman, bricks.
The area to the south of Ailsworth and Castor villages is known as Norma…
The Romans are first credited with making bricks in Britain. Their brick…