Editing Peterborough (section)

== Geography ==
=== Climate ===
According to the [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen classification]] the [[British Isles]] experience a [[oceanic climate|maritime climate]] characterised by relatively cool summers and mild winters. Compared with other parts of the country, East Anglia is slightly warmer and sunnier in the summer and colder and frostier in the winter. Owing to its inland position, furthest from the landfall of most [[Atlantic]] depressions, Cambridgeshire is one of the driest counties in the UK, receiving, on average, around {{cvt|600|mm|ft}} of rain per year.<ref>Brown, Chris [http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/policy/Env_Report_1998.htm State of the Environment Report 1998] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20080907032549/http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/policy/Env_Report_1998.htm |date=7 September 2008}} Chapter 11: Physical Background (pp.305–306) Cambridgeshire County Council (Retrieved 19 July 2007).</ref> The Met Office weather station at [[Wittering, Cambridgeshire|Wittering]], within the unitary authority of Peterborough, recorded a maximum temperature of {{cvt|39.9|C|F}} on 19 July 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Ogimet |url=https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/weather/uk-heatwave-2022-peterborough-narrowly-avoids-40-degree-milestone-as-wittering-temperature-teeters-on-399c-3775171 |title=Peterborough Today |access-date=13 February 2025 }}</ref> The lowest temperature in recent years was {{cvt|-13.4|C|F}} during February 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Tutiempo |url=http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/Wittering/02-2012/34620.htm |title=2012 Temperature |access-date=5 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606235239/http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/Wittering/02-2012/34620.htm |archive-date=6 June 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Weather box |location = [[RAF Wittering|Wittering]],{{efn|Weather station is located {{convert|8.9|mi|1|abbr=out}} from the Peterborough city centre.}} elevation: {{cvt|73|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1957–present
| collapsed = 
| metric first = y
| single line = y
| Jan record high C = 15.1
| Feb record high C = 17.8
| Mar record high C = 23.1
| Apr record high C = 26.3
| May record high C = 27.6
| Jun record high C = 33.3
| Jul record high C = 39.9
| Aug record high C = 35.2
| Sep record high C = 31.0
| Oct record high C = 28.2
| Nov record high C = 17.5
| Dec record high C = 15.5
| Jan high C = 7.1
| Feb high C = 7.9
| Mar high C = 10.4
| Apr high C = 13.4
| May high C = 16.5
| Jun high C = 19.5
| Jul high C = 22.1
| Aug high C = 21.7
| Sep high C = 18.7
| Oct high C = 14.4
| Nov high C = 10.1
| Dec high C = 7.4
| year high C = 14.1
| Jan mean C = 4.3
| Feb mean C = 4.6
| Mar mean C = 6.6
| Apr mean C = 9.0
| May mean C = 11.9
| Jun mean C = 14.9
| Jul mean C = 17.2
| Aug mean C = 17.0
| Sep mean C = 14.5
| Oct mean C = 10.9
| Nov mean C = 7.1
| Dec mean C = 4.6
| year mean C = 10.2
| Jan low C = 1.5
| Feb low C = 1.4
| Mar low C = 2.7
| Apr low C = 4.6
| May low C = 7.4
| Jun low C = 10.3
| Jul low C = 12.3
| Aug low C = 12.3
| Sep low C = 10.2
| Oct low C = 7.4
| Nov low C = 4.0
| Dec low C = 1.8
| year low C = 6.4
| Jan record low C = -13.9
| Feb record low C = -13.5
| Mar record low C = -12.0
| Apr record low C = -5.5
| May record low C = -1.3
| Jun record low C = 0.8
| Jul record low C = 5.2
| Aug record low C = 4.8
| Sep record low C = 1.0
| Oct record low C = -3.9
| Nov record low C = -7.6
| Dec record low C = -10.9
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 47.0
| Feb precipitation mm = 38.9
| Mar precipitation mm = 39.0
| Apr precipitation mm = 44.2
| May precipitation mm = 49.6
| Jun precipitation mm = 52.9
| Jul precipitation mm = 55.5
| Aug precipitation mm = 59.9
| Sep precipitation mm = 52.9
| Oct precipitation mm = 63.3
| Nov precipitation mm = 57.5
| Dec precipitation mm = 53.0
| year precipitation mm = 613.6
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 10.1
| Feb precipitation days = 9.3
| Mar precipitation days = 8.7
| Apr precipitation days = 8.8
| May precipitation days = 8.4
| Jun precipitation days = 9.0
| Jul precipitation days = 9.1
| Aug precipitation days = 9.2
| Sep precipitation days = 8.3
| Oct precipitation days = 10.2
| Nov precipitation days = 11.2
| Dec precipitation days = 10.7
| year precipitation days = 113.1
| Jan sun = 63.4
| Feb sun = 86.2
| Mar sun = 124.8
| Apr sun = 167.9
| May sun = 204.9
| Jun sun = 195.3
| Jul sun = 207.1
| Aug sun = 192.9
| Sep sun = 151.8
| Oct sun = 113.0
| Nov sun = 73.7
| Dec sun = 64.2
| year sun = 1645.1
| source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref name="Met Averages">{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcrem99cb |title=Wittering 1991–2020 averages |access-date=13 June 2019 |publisher=Met Office}}</ref>
| source 2 = Starlings Roost Weather<ref>{{cite web |url=http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmax_map.php |title=Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature |access-date=3 February 2023 |publisher=Starlings Roost Weather |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201173843/http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmax_map.php |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmin_map.php |title=Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature |access-date=3 February 2023 |publisher=Starlings Roost Weather |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201173844/http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmin_map.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

=== Topography ===
[[File:Peterborough River Nene.jpg|thumb|right|The [[River Nene]] embankment, seen from Frank Perkins Parkway]]
East Anglia is most notable for being almost flat (it is mainly on a floodplain). During the [[Last Glacial Period|Ice Age]] much of the region was covered by ice sheets and this has influenced the topography and nature of the soils.<ref>Brown (p.301).</ref> Much of Cambridgeshire is low-lying, in some places below present-day mean sea level.<ref>Brown (p.304).</ref> The lowest point on land is supposedly just to the south of the city at [[Holme, Cambridgeshire|Holme Fen]], which is {{convert|2.75|m|ft|abbr=off}} below sea level. The largest of the many settlements along the [[Fen]] edge, Peterborough has been called the ''Gateway to the Fens''.<ref>Dixon, Rachel [https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/oct/27/peterborough-lets-go-to-pubs-hotels-sights-cathedral Let’s go to … Peterborough] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404072945/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/oct/27/peterborough-lets-go-to-pubs-hotels-sights-cathedral |date=4 April 2018}} The Guardian, 27 October 2015.</ref> Before they were drained [[the Fens]] were liable to periodic flooding so [[Arable land|arable farming]] was limited to the higher areas of the Fen edge, with the rest of the [[The Fens|Fenland]] dedicated to [[pastoral farming]]. In this way, the mediaeval and early modern Fens stood in contrast to the rest of southern England, which was primarily arable. Since the advent of modern drainage in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the Fens have been radically transformed such that arable farming has almost entirely replaced pastoral.<ref>Broadberry, Stephen et al. [https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/sbroadberry/wp/agricenglandmedieval.pdf English Agricultural Output 1250–1450: Some Preliminary Estimates] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706112448/http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/sbroadberry/wp/agricenglandmedieval.pdf |date=6 July 2017 }} (p.10) University of Warwick, 27 November 2008.</ref> The unitary authority extends north west to the settlements of [[Wothorpe, Cambridgeshire|Wothorpe]] and [[Wittering, Cambridgeshire|Wittering]] and east beyond [[Thorney, Cambridgeshire|Thorney]] into the historic [[Isle of Ely]] and includes the [[Orton, Peterborough|Ortons]], south of the River Nene. It borders Northamptonshire to the west, Lincolnshire to the north, and the Cambridgeshire districts of [[Fenland District|Fenland]] and [[Huntingdonshire]] to the south and east. The city centre is located at 52°35'N [[latitude]] 0°15'W [[longitude]] or [[Ordnance Survey]] [[British national grid reference system|national grid reference]] TL&nbsp;185&nbsp;998.

'''Urban areas'''<br />
''Townships are in bold type. In addition to the surrounding villages, Bretton, Orton Longueville and Orton Waterville are parished. The city council also works closely with Werrington neighbourhood association which operates on a similar basis to a parish council.''<br />
'''[[Bretton, Peterborough|Bretton]]''' – [[Dogsthorpe, Peterborough|Dogsthorpe]] – [[Eastfield, Peterborough|Eastfield]] – [[Eastgate, Peterborough|Eastgate]] – [[Fengate, Peterborough|Fengate]] – [[Fletton, Peterborough|Fletton]] – [[Gunthorpe, Peterborough|Gunthorpe]] – '''[[Hampton, Peterborough|The Hamptons]]''' – [[Longthorpe, Peterborough|Longthorpe]] – [[Millfield, Peterborough|Millfield]] – [[Netherton, Peterborough|Netherton]] – [[Newark, Peterborough|Newark]] – [[New England, Peterborough|New England]] – '''[[Orton, Peterborough|The Ortons]]''' – [[Parnwell, Peterborough|Parnwell]] – [[Paston, Peterborough|Paston]] – [[Ravensthorpe, Peterborough|Ravensthorpe]] – [[Stanground, Peterborough|Stanground]] – [[Walton, Peterborough|Walton]] – '''[[Werrington, Peterborough|Werrington]]''' – [[West Town, Peterborough|West Town]] – [[Westwood, Peterborough|Westwood]] – [[Woodston, Peterborough|Woodston]]

'''Rural areas'''<br />
''[[Civil parishes]] do not cover the whole of England and mostly exist in rural hinterland. They are usually administered by parish councils which have various local responsibilities.''<br />
[[Ailsworth, Cambridgeshire|Ailsworth]] – [[Bainton, Cambridgeshire|Bainton]] – [[Barnack, Cambridgeshire|Barnack]] – [[Borough Fen, Cambridgeshire|Borough Fen]] – [[Castor, Cambridgeshire|Castor]] – [[Deeping Gate, Cambridgeshire|Deeping Gate]] – [[Etton, Cambridgeshire|Etton]] – [[Eye, Cambridgeshire|Eye]] – [[Eye Green, Cambridgeshire|Eye Green]] – [[Glinton, Cambridgeshire|Glinton]] – [[Helpston, Cambridgeshire|Helpston]] – [[Marholm, Cambridgeshire|Marholm]] – [[Maxey, Cambridgeshire|Maxey]] – [[Newborough, Cambridgeshire|Newborough]] – [[Northborough, Cambridgeshire|Northborough]] – [[Peakirk, Cambridgeshire|Peakirk]] – [[Southorpe, Cambridgeshire|Southorpe]] – [[St. Martin's Without, Cambridgeshire|St. Martin's Without]] – [[Sutton, Peterborough|Sutton]] – [[Thorney, Cambridgeshire|Thorney]] – [[Thornhaugh, Cambridgeshire|Thornhaugh]] – [[Ufford, Cambridgeshire|Ufford]] – [[Upton, Peterborough|Upton]] – [[Wansford, Cambridgeshire|Wansford]] – [[Wittering, Cambridgeshire|Wittering]] – [[Wothorpe, Cambridgeshire|Wothorpe]]

These are further arranged into 24 electoral [[Wards of the United Kingdom|wards]] for the purposes of local government.<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/161/contents/made The City of Peterborough (Electoral Changes) Order 2003] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501043447/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/161/contents/made |date=1 May 2011 }} (SI 2003/161) and [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/721/contents/made The City of Peterborough (Electoral Changes) (Amendment) Order 2004] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501043455/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/721/contents/made |date=1 May 2011 }} (SI 2004/721), see [[Boundary Committee for England]] report to the [[Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)|Electoral Commission]] [http://www.lgbce.org.uk/__documents/lgbce-documents/all-reviews/eastern/cambridgeshire/peterborough-unitary-authority-ua/peterborough_4441-4045__e__.pdf ''Final Recommendations on the Future Electoral Arrangements for Peterborough''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430004901/http://www.lgbce.org.uk/__documents/lgbce-documents/all-reviews/eastern/cambridgeshire/peterborough-unitary-authority-ua/peterborough_4441-4045__e__.pdf |date=30 April 2011 }}, 9 July 2002.</ref> 15 wards comprise the Peterborough constituency for elections to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], while the remaining nine fall within the North West Cambridgeshire constituency.<ref>Clegg, William [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/review_areas/downloads/ACR_Cambs_Peterborough.doc ''General Review of Parliamentary Constituency boundaries in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927113505/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/review_areas/downloads/ACR_Cambs_Peterborough.doc |date=27 September 2007 }} ([http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090517205200/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/review_areas/downloads/ACR_Cambs_Peterborough.doc archived copy] as at 17 May 2009 from the [[UK Government Web Archive]]) Assistant Commissioner's report to the Chairman and Members of the [[Boundary Commission for England]], 18 March 2004 and [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/review_areas/downloads/FR_NR_Cambridgeshire_Peterborough.doc ''Final Recommendations for Parliamentary Constituencies in the Counties of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070128155507/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/review_areas/downloads/FR_NR_Cambridgeshire_Peterborough.doc |date=28 January 2007 }} ([http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090517205155/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/review_areas/downloads/FR_NR_Cambridgeshire_Peterborough.doc archived copy] as at 17 May 2009 from the [[UK Government Web Archive]]) Boundary Commission for England, 19 January 2005.</ref>

=== Linguistics ===
Peterborough lies in the middle of several distinct regional accent groups and as such has a hybrid of Fenland [[East Anglian English|East Anglian]], [[East Midlands English|East Midland]] and London [[Estuary English]] features. The city falls just north of the A vowel [[isogloss]] and as such most native speakers will use the [[Phonological history of English short A|flat A]], as found in ''cat'', in words such as ''last''. [[Yod-dropping|''Yod''-dropping]] is often heard from Peterborians, as in the rest of East Anglia, for example ''new'' as {{IPA|/nuː/}}. However, the large number of newcomers has impacted greatly on the [[English English|English]] spoken by the younger generation. Common so-called Estuary English features such as [[L-vocalization|''L''-vocalisation]], [[T glottalization|T glottalisation]] and [[Th-fronting|''Th''-fronting]] give today's Peterborough accent a definite [[South East of England|south-eastern]] sound.<ref>Britain, David [http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics/papers/errl_41c.pdf Surviving Estuary English: Innovation diffusion, koineisation and local dialect differentiation in the English Fenland] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927113505/http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics/papers/errl_41c.pdf |date=27 September 2007 }} Essex Research Reports in Linguistics, vol.41 (pp.74–103) University of Essex, Department of Language and Linguistics, 2002.</ref>

=== Affiliations ===
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the United Kingdom}}
[[Town twinning]] started in Europe after the Second World War. Its purpose was to promote friendship and greater understanding between the people of different European cities. A twinning link is a formal, long-term friendship agreement involving co-operation between two communities in different countries and endorsed by both local authorities. The two communities organise projects and activities addressing a range of issues and develop an understanding of historical, cultural, lifestyle similarities and differences. Peterborough is twinned with the following municipalities:<ref>[http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/business/business-news/peterborough-s-twin-towns-1-126722 "Peterborough's twin towns"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072304/http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/business/business-news/peterborough-s-twin-towns-1-126722 |date=4 March 2016 }}, ''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'', 11 March 2009.</ref>

* [[Alcalá de Henares]], Spain (birthplace of [[Catherine of Aragon|Queen Katherine]], 1986)
* [[Ballarat]], Australia (1947)<ref>{{cite news| url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-299584079/view?sectionId=nla.obj-312100791&partId=nla.obj-300188037#page/n62/mode/1up |title=English Town Calls Up Ballarat |date=24 April 1947 |work=Building and Engineering |pages=61 |access-date=17 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/509039/voice-of-friendship-from-old-country/ |title=Voice of friendship from 'Old Country' |date=25 September 2008 |access-date=17 October 2023 |website=thecourier.com.au}}</ref>
* [[Bourges]], France (1957)<ref name="Archant twinning">{{cite web |url=http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |title=British towns twinned with French towns |access-date=11 July 2013 |work=Archant Community Media Ltd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705094933/http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |archive-date=5 July 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Forlì]], Italy (1981)
* [[Viersen]], Germany (1981)
* [[Vinnytsia]], Ukraine (1991)

[[Bourges]] and [[Forlì]] are also twinned with each other. The city also has more informal friendship links with [[Foggia]], Italy; [[Kwe Kwe]], Zimbabwe; [[Pécs]], Hungary; and all [[Peterborough (disambiguation)|Peterboroughs]] around the world.<ref>[http://www2.peterborough.gov.uk/community_information/international_links.aspx International Links] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107150315/http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/community_information/international_links.aspx |date=7 November 2014 }} Peterborough City Council (Retrieved 22 April 2015).</ref><ref>[http://www.visitpeterborough.com/information/town-twinning.aspx Town Twinning] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315183626/http://www.visitpeterborough.com/information/town-twinning.aspx |date=15 March 2019 }} Visit Peterborough (Retrieved 22 April 2015).</ref> The county of Cambridgeshire has been twinned with [[Viersen (district)|Kreis Viersen]], Germany since 1983.<ref>[https://archive.today/20150422174539/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/40year-twinning-relationship-Cambridgeshire-German-region-Kreis-Viersen-fallen-victim-spending-cuts/story-22365047-detail/story.html "How 40-year twinning relationship between Cambridgeshire and German region of Kreis Viersen has fallen victim to spending cuts"], ''Cambridge News'', 18 November 2013.</ref>