Editing Peterborough Cathedral (section)

===Anglo-Saxon origins===
{{main|Medeshamstede}}
The original church, known as "[[Medeshamstede]]", was founded in the reign of the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Peada of Mercia|King Peada]] of the [[Middle Angles]] in about 655 AD, as one of the first centres of Christianity in central England.<ref name=sweeting>{{cite book
 | last = Sweeting
 | first = W.D
 | editor = Bell, E
 | title = The Cathedral Church of Peterborough: A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See
 | orig-year = 1898
 | url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13618/13618-h/13618-h.htm
 | access-date = 23 April 2007
 | edition = [[Project Gutenberg]] transcription of the 1926 reprint of the 2nd
 | series = Bell's Cathedrals
 | date = 5 October 2004
 | publisher = G. Bell and Sons
 | location = London
 | chapter = Chapter 1. History of the Cathedral Church of St Peter
 | chapter-url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13618/13618-h/13618-h.htm#Page_3
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929103230/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13618/13618-h/13618-h.htm
 | archive-date = 29 September 2007
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> The monastic settlement with which the church was associated lasted at least until 870, when it was supposedly destroyed by [[Viking]]s. In an alcove of the New Building, an extension of the eastern end, lies an ancient stone carving: the [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peterborough_Cathedral_Hedda_Stone.jpg Hedda Stone]. This medieval carving of 12 monks, six on each side, commemorates the destruction of the Monastery and the death of the Abbot and Monks when the area was sacked by the Vikings in 864. The Hedda Stone was likely carved sometime after the raid, when the monastery slipped into decline.<ref>http://cambridgemilitaryhistory.com/2014/11/30/the-hedda-stone-and-peterborough-abbey/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208150807/http://cambridgemilitaryhistory.com/2014/11/30/the-hedda-stone-and-peterborough-abbey/ |date=8 December 2014 }} The Hedda Stone and Peterborough Cathedral at the Cambridge Military History Website</ref>

In the mid-10th century, monastic revival (during which churches at [[Ely Cathedral|Ely]] and [[Ramsey Abbey|Ramsey]] were also refounded) a [[Benedictine]] [[Abbey]] was created and endowed in 966, principally by [[Æthelwold of Winchester|Athelwold]], [[Bishop of Winchester]], from what remained of the earlier church, with "a [[basilica]] [church] there furbished with suitable structures of halls, and enriched with surrounding lands" and more extensive buildings which saw the aisle built out to the west with a second tower added. The original central tower was, however, retained.<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Biddick
 | first = Kathleen
 | title = The Other Economy: Pastoral Husbandry on a Medieval Estate
 | url = http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft8199p22b&chunk.id=d0e213&toc.id=d0e208&toc.depth=1&brand=ucpress&anchor.id=JD_Page_13#X
 | access-date = 25 April 2007
 | year = 1989
 | publisher = [[University of California]] Press
 | isbn = 0-520-06388-0
 | page = 13
 | chapter = 1 – Consumption and Pastoral Resources on the Early Medieval Estate
 | chapter-url = http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft8199p22b&chunk.id=d0e203&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e203&brand=ucpress
 | quote = He restored Peterborough Abbey to its former royal splendor and dedicated "a basilica there furbished with suitable structures of halls, and enriched with surrounding lands."
 }}</ref> It was dedicated to St Peter and surrounded by a palisade, called a [[burgh]], hence the town surrounding the [[abbey]] was eventually named Peter-burgh. The community was further revived in 972 by [[Dunstan]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name=sweeting /><ref>The most recent survey of the Anglo-Saxon history of Peterborough Abbey is in Kelly, S.E. (ed.), ''Charters of Peterborough Abbey'', Anglo-Saxon Charters 14, [[Oxford University Press|OUP]], 2009.</ref>

This newer church had as its major focal point a substantial western tower with a "[[Rhenish helm]]" and was largely constructed of [[ashlar]]s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Only a small section of the foundations of the Anglo-Saxon church remain beneath the south transept but there are several significant artefacts, including [[Anglo-Saxon art|Anglo-Saxon]] carvings such as the Hedda Stone, from the earlier building.

In 2008, Anglo-Saxon grave markers were reported to have been found by workmen repairing a wall in the cathedral precincts. The grave markers are said to date to the 11th century, and probably belonged to "townsfolk".<ref>[http://medievalnews.blogspot.com/2008/03/anglo-saxon-graves-found-at.html Anglo-Saxon graves found at Peterborough Cathedral.] Medievalists.net. Retrieved on 15 May 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001064547/http://medievalnews.blogspot.com/2008/03/anglo-saxon-graves-found-at.html |date=1 October 2011 }}</ref>