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.
Thorpe Hall is a Grade 1 listed building built during the Cromwellian era between 1653 and 1658, at a time when very few stately homes were built. Oliver St. John (pronounced Sinjun) commissioned the house to be built by Peter Mills, who later helped to rebuild London after the Great Fire in 1666.
Oliver St. John was a judge, politician and Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas to Oliver Cromwell, whom he was related to through his second wife Elizabeth Cromwell, said to be his favourite cousin. This connection might have been advantageous in securing the land to build Thorpe Hall on.
The house was built in the shape of a cube, set amongst 6 acres of walled garden. Much of the interior of the house has changed over the years, but the wooden staircase is dated from the original house build and large fireplaces on the ground floor are worthy of merit.
The house has changed hands many times over the years and was at one point a boys school and a maternity home. It was bought by Sue Ryder in 1986 to be used as a hospice, with an extension added in 2015 within the old walled orchard.
The construction of St Botolph's Church in Longthorpe is believed to have been started in 1262, in the same century as nearby Longthorpe Tower, built by the de Thorp family .
The church does not have a tower, but has an external bell cote at the western end of the church. It contains memorials to the St John and Strong families who lived in Thorpe Hall and the Ketton Stone.
Rumour has it that an earlier church was founded by St. Botolph in the seventh century, but there is no evidence of this. Some of the building, however, is thought to contain parts of an earlier eleventh century church.
One of the earliest Tudor records in Peterborough is a charter relating to St John's Church. It is part of a collection of charters, mainly relating to medieval Peterborough, that detail the exchange of church-owned property from one person to another. What is most interesting about this is its reference to three guilds that operated in the city, known as 'the guilds of the Blessed Mary the Virgin, St John the Baptist and the Blessed Saints George and James, Martyrs'. The guilds were run by Aldermen, who were a form of councillor and would have been very important in the city. The document does not tell us if the guilds are craft or merchant guilds, but it does list the name of the Aldermen as John Kilham, Walter Watson and John Joy.
Other records reference the three guilds in the medieval and Tudor periods and we know that they were based in St John's Church in the centre of town.
Reference: PAS/GCH/24 and 25, Charters Relating to the Parish Church (St John) and Guild Lands of Peterborough, 30 January 1487-88
Image by bluebudgie from Pixabay
The construction of St Botolph's Church in Longthorpe is believed to hav…