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Neville Place and the Ormes

1536

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In 1536 a Tudor house called Neville Place was built by Sir Humphrey Orme, who was a courtier of Henry VIII. The house was built on the site of current museum building. The Ormes were important in Peterborough for over 250 years. They were Members of Parliament, Magistrates and also Feoffees. They were royalist during the English Civil War and were involved in the building of the Guildhall after the Restoration.





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Priestgate Mansion

1816

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The Georgian building known as Priestgate Mansion, which now houses Peterborough Museum was completed in 1816. It was created by wealthy magistrate Thomas Alderson Cooke, one of Peterborough’s most distinguished residents. The mansion was built on the site of the Tudor house known as Neville Place. It was built on top of the original building, which became the cellars of the new mansion. Some of the currently ground floor walls are possibly from the original house because of their enormous width. Priestgate mansion was originally built as a large symmetrical cube with an additional south-facing curved end. The curved end most likely contained a breakfast room to make the most of the rising sun on cold days and to enjoy the view down to the river Nene. The ground floor was designed for formal entertaining in the dining room and living room. On the first floor were the main bedrooms and on the top floor the nursery and servant rooms. There were not any bathrooms built in to the house originally, so portable water closets were used by people in the house.





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Knights and a Castle

1071

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William I imposed the living of sixty knights onto Peterborough Abbey and its monastic estates in 1071. He ordered the construction of a motte and bailey castle on the north side of the monastic precincts. This  was a Norman Castle of timber and earth. The motte remains today in the Deanery Gardens as Tout (Tower) Hill, whilst many of the manors in the area given to the knights now bear their names in the villages – Helpston, Longueville, Waterville and so on.





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Thorney Monastery Granted to the Earl of Bedford

1550

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The site of the medieval Benedictine monastery of Thorney was granted by Henry VIII to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, beginning a connection with the Russell family which lasted until 1910, with the current primary school still called the “Duke of Bedford School”





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Market for Thorney

1634

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In 1634 the right to hold a market on the Green at Thorney was granted to the Earls of Bedford, who held the lordship of Thorney from 1551.  The market continued until 1830, and then a fair was held on the Green into the 20th century.





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Burghley House

1587

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Burghley House was built by William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I's Secretary of State and closest adviser. It was originally designed in the shape of an 'E' to honour the queen, although she was never to visit. However, Queen Victoria was one of many high-profile visitors to the house and she planted a tree in the family's personal gardens at the back of the house. The gardens and park of Burghley House were laid out by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in the 18th century, in line with many great houses of the time. William Cecil's descendants still live in the house and hold the Burghley Horse Trials every September, which have been running since 1961.  





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Russell Family Sell Thorney

1910

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The Russell family, Earls and Dukes of Bedford, had control of the village and parish of Thorney from 1550 until 1910, when an ongoing agricultural depression made it a financial drain on their finances. The Crown offered to buy the land from the current Duke, but he felt they had severely undervalued the lot. The land, totalling approximately 20,000 acres with 220 holdings, was sold between 1909-1910, mostly to local tenant farmers. The Duke went on to sell much of his other lands and properties over the next few years.





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William Cecil Honoured

1576

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In 1576 Elizabeth I passed the title of Lord Paramount of the Liberty of Peterborough from the Bishop of Peterborough to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, whose descendants still hold this title.  





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St Botolph’s Church Started

1262

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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.





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Thorpe Hall Built

1653

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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.





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