1903: Today saw an extension to Peterborough's growing tram network when the service to Newark began, the trams travelling along the Eastfield Road. The driver - the motorman - had to stand in an open area to drive the tram and was exposed to all weathers. He worked a ten-hour shift, six days a week, at a rate of 5d an hour, which provided him with a weekly wage of 25s. (Peterborough Advertiser)
Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.
The painting of Peterborough Cathedral from the North by the artist Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) was first exhibited in 1795.
Turner made sketches for this and other works showing the cathedral, during his 1794 Midlands tour. This small watercolour is typical of the popular topographical imagery that was engraved for magazines during the period.
Whilst the cathedral is the dominant feature of Peterborough Cathedral from the North, the foreground figures of local women going about their daily lives add a sense of scale and harmonious order to the scene. Turner’s viewpoint also suggests the compactness of the city and its closeness to its surrounding countryside during the 1790s.