Good Following a Fire

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1884: Peterborough was still in shock following the dramatic fire at the infirmary two days previous, but it proved to be a catalyst for the expansion and development of its facilities. An appeal for restoration funds soon got underway. It stated that there had been 3,725 patients treated in 1883 and a total of 29,352 in the previous ten years. The appeal raised £3,000 for the hospital - and provoked a review of the fire service facilities, which were in place before the end of the year. (Tebbs, H.F., Peterborough, Oleander Press, 1979)

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

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Misbehaving Monks

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1515: The abbacy of Robert Kirkton was a time of extremes for both the monastery and the town. His great building projects have left us the New Building on the church and the Great Gate that now leads to the dean's offices. However, beyond this gate, he had allowed thirty tenements to fall into utter decay before turning the ground into a park for his deer! Running side by side with his grand projects was lax management and slipping morals. Kirkton himself 'wriggled and squirmed' when it came to repaying a debt to Henry VIII. When William Atwater, Bishop of Lincoln, visited the monastery on this day, he found many things 'out of order'. He reported that monk, John Walpole, was being seditious amongst his brethren. He also reported that he had stolen certain jewels from St Oswald's shrine, and what he could lay his hands on elsewhere, and given them to women in the town. So much for his vow of celibacy! It was also reported that certain monks haunted a tavern near the monastery - probably in the Boongate area - and gave themselves up to singing and dancing in the dormitory until 10 or 11 p.m., to the consternation of the rest of their brethren. (Gunton, Symon, The History of the Church in Peterborough, ed. Symon Patrick, 1990)

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