Consecration of St John's Church

Information

1407: There were some controversial points behind the consecration of, and the first Mass at, St John's church by Peterborough's mitred Abbot Genge. Philip Repington, the Bishop of Lincoln, should have attended but, it was claimed, he had more pressing engagements. Bishop Repington was chaplain and confessor to King Henry VI and it was 'suggested' that he was too busy chasing promotion to come to Peterborough. Was it a coincidence that he became a cardinal in 1408? (Bull, J&V., A History of Peterborough Parish Church - St John the Baptist 1407-2007; Mackreth, Donald, Peterborough - History & Guide,Sutton, 1994)

Taken from: The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.

Peterborough's 2011 Census

2011

Information

The census taken in 2011 shows the diversity of people to be found in the city.

Peterborough’s population rose by 27,570 to 183,631 between 2001 and 2011. The population included people born in Italy, Portugal, Poland, Lithuania, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, India, Australia, USA, and the Caribbean. The vast majority of new arrivals were of the most economically active age range, between 20 and 44 years.

Peterborough continues to be a growing, thriving and diverse city.

A Report on Racism in Peterborough Published

2012

Information

The new geographies of racism: Peterborough, a briefing by Jon Burnett, was published by the Institute of Race Relations on 01/07/2012
This briefing explores racism in Peterborough, one of the areas of the country identified as seeing an intensification of racism. It focuses on Peterborough as a city which had experienced significant population change over the previous decade, largely as a result of the expansion of the European Union and the migrant workers who have found employment in the city’s factories and agri-business industries. These same workers had been vilified as overrunning the city in a succession of national media investigations, yet this report finds that in fact there had been range of violent attacks, largely unrecognised, against migrant workers and other BME communities.

Based on interviews carried out within the city, the briefing highlighted how:

Exploited migrant workers, forced in the most extreme cases into destitution, had been bullied, harassed and attacked. Yet police and UK Border Agency (UKBA) operations aimed at removing them from the country led to an unwillingness to report this violence to the authorities.
Asylum seekers dispersed into the city had been targeted and in the most serious examples forced from their homes.
Some politicians are accused of exploiting concerns over immigration for political gain.
Attempts by far-right groups to exploit the murder of a white teenager by Asian men were repelled by local community activists.

Dr Jon Burnett, author of the report, said: ‘The overriding political consensus is capitulating to the idea that migration is undermining the social fabric of the UK. That, combined with an austerity programme which is destroying public services, and the consistent moves to blame migrants for putting overbearing pressure on the same, is likely to lead to a wave of hostilities and attacks. It is places like Peterborough where the implications may well be made clear.’

Reference:

The new geographies of racism: Peterborough, Dr Jon Burnett, Institute of Race Relations, 2012

Press release from the Institute of Race relations 30 July 2012

Resources

Immigration , Racism

American Colonist Brothers From Northborough

1678

Information

Norton Claypoole was born around 1640 to John and Mary Claypoole or Claypole of Northborough Manor and emigrated to Delaware in America in 1678. Norton, a friend of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and also a Quaker, was a well-respected man and engaged in many legal positions including Justice of the Peace for Delaware from Christmas Day 1682. He died in 1688 leaving a wife and several children.

Claypoole had many siblings and his older brother James, who was born in 1634 and had also converted to Quakerism, sailed out to America a few years later. In 1681 and 1683 he purchased land in Pennsylvania, sending servants to prepare the land with crops and build a small house ahead of his arrival. He arrived with his wife and children in October 1683 and lived there until his death in 1687.

Their brother Edward also emigrated to America, moving on to settle in Barbados.

Many Americans can trace their family back to the Claypooles and proudly associate themselves with the family that once called Northborough Manor their home. Northborough Manor is a private home, but the gatehouse can be booked for holidays or vacations depending on which side of the Atlantic you call your home.

References:

A. Brunk, The Claypoole Family Joiners of Philadelphia: Their Legacy and the Context of Their Work, Chipstone, <http://www.chipstone.org/> [accessed 1 March 2021].

Geni.com

Wikitree.com

Resources

Northborough , Quakers , Americans , Immigration

Huguenots Arrive in Thorney

1652

Information

The rich fertile lands around Peterborough have drawn people to the area for centuries. Similarly, the city and soke has offered a safe haven to migrants fleeing persecution, war or economic hardships. The Huguenots arrived in the Peterborough area, specifically around Thorney, during the seventeenth century. They were part of a group of people who had been subject to religious persecution in France for following Protestant Christianity in a country that was mainly Catholic.

They fled France and were welcomed in many countries in Europe thanks to high rates of literacy and their skilled craftsmen. In Thorney they worked under the leadership of Cornelius Vermuyden to assist in draining the flat but boggy lands of the fens and were rewarded with fertile farmland.

Records of the Huguenot population can be found in church records from Thorney. They were said to be the force behind the reuse of the Thorney Abbey church of St Andrew and St Botolph, with services beginning in 1652 and records in 1653. The Huguenots continued to speak in French for many years, so the church services and their records were also in French

Many French surnames are still common in and around the area, and include Fovargue and Lefevre References to the Huguenots can also be found in local place names including French Drove.

Thorney Museum is a good place to learn more about the Huguenots and view transcripts of their records.

References:

Thorney Society, 17^th Century: The Earls of Bedford and early settlers, Thorney Museum <http://www.thorney-museum.org.uk/17th-century> [accessed 4 March 2021].

The Huguenot Society, Huguenot History <https://www.huguenotsociety.org.uk/history.html> [accessed 4 March 2021].

Resources

France , Abbey of Thorney , French , Immigration , Huguenots

Please rotate your device

Consecration of St John's Church

Information

Peterborough's 2011 Census

2011

Information

A Report on Racism in Peterborough Published

2012

Information

Resources

American Colonist Brothers From Northborough

1678

Information

Resources

Huguenots Arrive in Thorney

1652

Information

Resources

Peterborough's 2011 Census

A Report on Racism in Peter…

American Colonist Brothers…

Huguenots Arrive in Thorney

Please rotate your device

Consecration of St John's Church

Information

Peterborough's 2011 Census

2011

Information

Links

A Report on Racism in Peterborough Published

2012

Information

Resources

Related stories

Links

American Colonist Brothers From Northborough

1678

Information

Resources

Related stories

Links

Huguenots Arrive in Thorney

1652

Information

Resources

Related stories

Links

Peterborough's 2011 Census

A Report on Racism in Peter…

American Colonist Brothers…

Huguenots Arrive in Thorney