1940: Over 500 men between the ages of 20 and 23 registered for 'call-up' at the Peterborough Labour Exchange on this Saturday. Of these only five registered a conscientious objection. In the end 490 actually signed up. 64 with the Navy and 130 with the RAF. The rest offered no definite preference. Not surprisingly, bearing in mind the industrial landscape of Peterborough, there was more than the usual number of recruits who were in reserved occupations - mainly engineering. (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 Guildhall, also known as the Buttercross or Chamber Over the Cross, was built to commemorate the restoration of the monarchy and was paid for by public subscription. It was built by local builder John Lovin, who was partly paid by the minting of an octagonal Peterborough halfpenny.
Many local influential families subscribed to the building of the Guildhall and several coats of arms can be seen on the side of the building. Peterborough Museum houses a turtle shell decorated with the arms of Sir Humphrey Orme, MP and owner of Neville Place (the site of the present museum). It is said that Sir Humphrey supplied the turtle for soup eaten to celebrate its completion.
The Orme family were very influential in the 1600s in Peterborough. They lived for sometime at the Bishop's manor of Boroughbury and in Priestgate too. They were also engaged in the work of the feoffees, helping to manage civic matters and support the poor and needy. As with any family, they weren't all well-respected individuals.
Humphrey Orme was born in 1620 in the city and rose to become the first MP in his family in 1654. His appointment was not a popular one in the city, which was no doubt due to his royalist persuasions at a time when England was ruled as a Commonwealth. The petition of William Collins, Edward Bud, William Packer, John Cawthorne, James Taylor, John Howson, and Robert Andrew claimed that he should not be the city's MP because he was 'not a person of known integritie (sic) nor of good conversation.' They laid eight points against him including that he kept 'common company' and was 'a profane swearer', 'hard drinker' and when drunk 'twice quarrelled with one Lawrence Robinson, both of them stabbing each other neare (sic) unto death last time.' He was re-elected in 1660 and died in 1671 being buried in the cathedral. His behaviour makes modern MP misdemeanours look very mild in comparison!
References:
Saunders, W. H. Bernard, Fenland Notes and Queries, ed. Sweeting W. D., (1891, G. C. Caster) pp. 99-100 <archive.org> [accessed 8 Feb 2021].
Helms, M. W. and Edwards, E. R., Orme, Humphrey [1620-1671] , of Peterborough, Northants, History of Parliament Online, <historyofparliamentonline.org> [accessed 8 Feb 2021].
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The Orme family were very influential in the 1600s in Peterborough. They…