Editing Peterborough (section)

=== Modern history ===
Railway lines began operating locally during the 1840s, but it was the 1850 opening of the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]]'s line from London to {{rws|York}} that transformed Peterborough from a market town to an industrial centre. [[Brownlow Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Exeter|Lord Exeter]] had opposed the railway passing through Stamford, so Peterborough, situated between two main terminals at London and [[Doncaster]], increasingly developed as a regional hub.<ref>Brooks, John [web.archive.org/web/20050513152328/http://www.towns.org.uk/market-towns-projects/Market-Towns-Food-and-Tourism-Guides~3.pdf {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025090608/http://www.towns.org.uk/market-towns-projects/Market-Towns-Food-and-Tourism-Guides~3.pdf |date=25 October 2007 }} A Flavour of the Welland] (p.12) The Welland Partnership and Jarrold Publishing, Norwich, 2004.</ref>
[[File:Front of Burghley House 2009.jpg|thumb|right|[[Burghley House]] (1555–1587), seat of the Marquess of Exeter, hereditary Lord Paramount of Peterborough]]
Coupled with vast local clay deposits, the railway enabled large scale brickmaking and distribution to take place. The area was the UK's leading producer of bricks for much of the twentieth century. Brick-making had been a small seasonal craft since the early nineteenth century, but during the 1890s successful experiments at [[Fletton, Peterborough|Fletton]] using the harder clays from a lower level had resulted in a much more efficient process.<ref>Davies (pp.23–24).</ref> The market dominance during this period of the [[London Brick Company]], founded by the prolific Scottish builder and architect [[John Cathles Hill]], gave rise to some of the country's most well-known landmarks, all built using the ubiquitous Fletton Brick.<ref>[http://www.hanson.co.uk/samples/pdfs/Brick%20and%20cladding/London%20brick%20130%20years%20of%20history.pdf London Brick: 130 Years of History 1877–2007] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529072411/http://www.hanson.co.uk/samples/pdfs/Brick%20and%20cladding/London%20brick%20130%20years%20of%20history.pdf |date=29 May 2008 }} Hanson Building Products, 2007.</ref> [[Perkins Engines]] was established in Peterborough in 1932 by [[Frank Perkins (engineer)|Frank Perkins]], creator of the Perkins diesel engine. Thirty years later it employed more than a tenth of the population of Peterborough, mainly at [[Eastfield, Peterborough|Eastfield]].<ref>Baker, Anne Pimlott "Perkins, Francis Arthur (1889–1967)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004.{{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/48099}}.</ref> [[Baker Perkins]] had relocated from London to [[Westwood, Peterborough|Westwood]], now the site of [[HM Prison Peterborough]], in 1903, followed by [[Peter Brotherhood]] to [[Walton, Peterborough|Walton]] in 1906; both manufacturers of industrial machinery, they too became major employers in the city.<ref>Davies (pp.26–27).</ref> [[British Sugar]] has moved its headquarters to [[Hampton, Peterborough|Hampton]] from [[Woodston, Peterborough|Woodston]], the [[beet sugar]] factory, which opened there in 1926, was closed in 1991.<ref>[http://www.britishsugar.co.uk/RVEf0888db1fee94b65a660493aa115d694,,.aspx The History of British Sugar]British Sugar (Retrieved 5 January 2008). {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116235959/http://www.britishsugar.co.uk/RVEf0888db1fee94b65a660493aa115d694%2C%2C.aspx |date=16 January 2008 }} {{cite web |url=http://www.britishsugar.co.uk/RVEf0888db1fee94b65a660493aa115d694%2C%2C.aspx |title=British Sugar |access-date=5 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411114019/http://www.britishsugar.co.uk/RVEf0888db1fee94b65a660493aa115d694%2C%2C.aspx |archive-date=11 April 2008 }}</ref>

The [[Norwich and Peterborough Building Society|Norwich and Peterborough]] (N&P) was formed by the merger of the Norwich Building Society and the Peterborough Building Society in 1986. It was the ninth largest building society at the time of its merger into the [[Yorkshire Building Society|Yorkshire Group]] in 2011.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14623484 Members agree Yorkshire and N&P building societies merger] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109150025/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14623484 |date=9 November 2018 }} BBC News, 22 August 2011.</ref> N&P continued to operate under its own brand administered at Lynch Wood until 2018. Prior to merger with the [[Midlands Co-operative Society|Midlands Co-op]] in 2013, [[Anglia Regional Co-operative Society|Anglia Regional]], the UK's fifth largest co-operative society, was also based in Peterborough, where it was established in 1876.<ref>Brooks, Beth [http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/central-england-co-op-born-out-of-midlands-anglia-merger/353614.article Central England Co-op born out of Midlands-Anglia merger] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204204/http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/central-england-co-op-born-out-of-midlands-anglia-merger/353614.article |date=4 March 2016 }} ''The Grocer'', 16 January 2014.</ref> The combined society began trading as [[Central England Co-operative]] in 2014.

Designated a [[New towns in the United Kingdom|New Town]] in 1967, [[Peterborough Development Corporation]] was formed in partnership with the city and county councils to house London's [[London overspill|overspill]] population in new [[Township (England)|townships]] sited around the existing urban area.<ref>Under the New Towns Act 1965 (1965 cap.59) cf. [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1988/1410/contents/made The Peterborough Development Corporation (Transfer of Property and Dissolution) Order 1988] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430173018/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1988/1410/contents/made |date=30 April 2011 }} (SI 1988/1410); the designation was made on 21 July 1967, see {{London Gazette |issue=44377 |page=8515 |date=1 August 1967}}</ref> There were to be four townships, one each at [[Bretton, Peterborough|Bretton]] (originally to be called Milton, a hamlet in the [[Middle Ages]]), [[Orton, Peterborough|Orton]], [[Paston, Peterborough|Paston]]/ [[Werrington, Peterborough|Werrington]] and [[Castor, Cambridgeshire|Castor]]. The last of these was never built, but a fourth, called [[Hampton, Peterborough|Hampton]], is now taking shape south of the city. It was decided that the city should have a major indoor shopping centre at its heart. Planning permission was received in late summer 1976 and [[Queensgate shopping centre, United Kingdom|Queensgate]], containing over 90 stores and including parking for 2,300 cars, was opened by Queen [[Beatrix of the Netherlands]] in 1982. {{convert|34|mi|km}} of urban roads were planned and a network of high-speed landscaped thoroughfares, known as [[parkway]]s, was constructed.<ref>Hancock, Tom ''Greater Peterborough Master Plan'' Peterborough Development Corporation, 1971.</ref>

Peterborough's population grew by 45.4% between 1971 and 1991. New service sector companies like [[Thomas Cook Group|Thomas Cook]] and [[Phoenix Group|Pearl Assurance]] were attracted to the city, ending the dominance of the manufacturing industry as employers. An [[urban regeneration company]] named Opportunity Peterborough, under the chairmanship of [[Brian Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney|Lord Mawhinney]], was set up by the [[Office of the Deputy Prime Minister]] in 2005 to oversee Peterborough's future development.<ref>[http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/EXPANSION-A-billion-reasons-to.959657.jp "Expansion: A billion reasons to be cheerful"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014032015/http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/EXPANSION-A-billion-reasons-to.959657.jp |date=14 October 2007 }}, ''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'', 2 March 2005.</ref> Between 2006 and 2012 a £1&nbsp;billion redevelopment of the city centre and surrounding areas was planned. The master plan provided guidelines on the physical shaping of the city centre over the next 15–20 years. Proposals are still progressing for the north of Westgate, the south bank and the station quarter, where [[Network Rail]] is preparing a major mixed use development.<ref name=plan>[http://www.gpp-peterborough.org.uk/regions/documents/ThePlanforPeterboroughCityCentreFebruary2005.pdf The Plan for Peterborough City Centre] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616131754/http://www.gpp-peterborough.org.uk/regions/documents/ThePlanforPeterboroughCityCentreFebruary2005.pdf |date=16 June 2007 }} Peterborough City Council, East of England Development Agency and [[English Partnerships]], February 2005.</ref> Whilst recognising that the reconfiguration of the relationship between the city and station was critical, [[English Heritage]] found the current plans for Westgate unconvincing and felt more thought should be given to the vitality of the historic core.<ref>[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/UrbanPanelReviewPaperforPeterboroughMarch2006.pdf Urban Panel Review Paper for Peterborough] (see [http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080110083020/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/UrbanPanelReviewPaperforPeterboroughMarch2006.pdf archived copy] in the [[UK Government Web Archive]], archived on 10 January 2008) [[Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England]] and [[Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment]], 16 March 2006.</ref>

In recent years Peterborough has undergone significant changes with numerous developments underway, most notably are Fletton Quays, a project to construct 350 apartments, various office spaces as well as a new home for [[Peterborough City Council]] with other projects within the development to include a [[Hilton Garden Inn]] hotel with a sky bar, a new passport office and various leisure, restaurant and retail opportunities. Other projects within the city include the extension to [[Queensgate shopping centre, United Kingdom|Queensgate Shopping Centre]], The Great Northern Hotel and more recently plans to extend the [[Peterborough railway station|railway station]] and long stay car park to facilitate more office space in the city centre and further parking.