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.

Record-Breaking Mallard Steams into Town

1938

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The growth of Peterborough in the nineteenth century was thanks to the arrival of the railways. It is only fitting then, that Peterborough was part of a record-breaking railway achievement.

The East Coast Main Line that runs North to South through the city was the destination of the fastest speed achieved by a steam engine. The Mallard, an A4 class of steam locomotive, regularly travelled the route from London to Edinburgh. On July 3rd 1938 whilst heading south from Grantham towards Peterborough, it travelled faster than anyone could have hoped. It was being driven by the experienced driver Joe Duddington and Tommy Bray the fireman. Amazingly it achieved a top speed of 126mph (203kph). No other steam train has been able to achieve that speed. Tommy Bray was said to be 'grinning from ear to ear' when he arrived in Peterborough. (1)

The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) had planned the event and knew that pushing The Mallard to achieve such high speeds was risky. They had a back up engine waiting in Peterborough North station, which was swapped with The Mallard. The train continued its journey on to London and The Mallard turned back towards Doncaster for some TLC.

The Mallard is now part of the collection at the National Railway Museum in York.

Reference

(1) http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/10520647.The_day_Mallard_steamed_into_the_record_books/

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Station

Peterborough North Station Opens

1850

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In 1850 the Great Northern Railway opened Peterborough North Station to service the line it was building between London and York. It was built on the site of the present mainline station.

From the 1850s to the 1960s Peterborough was a nationally important railway centre with a locomotive depot and engineering works, plus 80 miles of sidings, creating many new jobs and bringing huge growth and prosperity to the city. By 1901 the railway industry employed 25% of the city's adult male population.

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Great Northern Railway , Engineering , Station

Barnack Castle: Myth or Mystery?

1116-1485

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Barnack Castle was apparently rediscovered when the Stamford and Essendine Railway Line was built across the far eastern end of the village in 1867. When workmen dug down to build Barnack Station they discovered ashlar stones and a mound which was presumed to be the remains of a castle.

Anecdotal evidence was recorded of the stationmaster digging up ashlar stones in his garden and earthworks including foundation walls being visible through the nineteenth century. An additional story from 1902 regaled the event of an earthenware dish being dug up from land near the station. Rather curiously, the dish was said to contain a plum pudding! The pudding was left out in the air and over the next day it diminished in size until it vanished, quite to the amusement and confusion of the locals. The earthenware dish was described as ancient, suggesting it had been in the ground for many years, and was thought to be related to the ashlar stones. A local field has the name of 'Bomb Castle Close', suggesting that the locals believed there to be a castle in the vicinity. The local Historic Environment Record appears to be based on the anecdotal evidence.

Landscape archaeology of the site does not support the idea of a castle being there either. There were several castles in the area including Stamford, Maxey, Fotheringhay and Peterborough, but all have left remains and at least some written references, even though Peterborough Castle had a very short existence. Lidar images do not suggest the presence of a significant building in the area, there being no evidence of mounds, ditches or otherwise, although ashlar stones in situ would suggest a building of some importance.

Did Barnack have a castle? The lack of landscape archaeology would suggest not. Was there a significant building on the Barnack Station site in the past? This appears likely, but the only way we will ever discover exactly what was there is if an archaeological dig takes place in the area.

References:

http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/2985.html <accessed 22/01/2020>

Image from Pixabay

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Castle , Station , Barnack

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Consecration of St John's Church

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Record-Breaking Mallard Steams into Town

1938

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Reference

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Peterborough North Station Opens

1850

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Barnack Castle: Myth or Mystery?

1116-1485

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Record-Breaking Mallard Ste…

Peterborough North Station…

Barnack Castle: Myth or Mys…

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Consecration of St John's Church

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Record-Breaking Mallard Steams into Town

1938

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Reference

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Peterborough North Station Opens

1850

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Barnack Castle: Myth or Mystery?

1116-1485

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