Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough, England
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- 1539
- As part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Peterborough Abbey is closed and its property is confiscated by King Henry VIII
- 4 Sep 1541
- Henry VIII founds Peterborough Cathedral, designating the former abbey church as its building and the former abbot (John Chambers) as its first bishop
- Aug 1587
- Mary, Queen of Scots is buried in Peterborough Cathedral (Peterborough's dean, Richard Fletcher, had officiated at both her execution and funeral)
- 1594
- Death of Robert Scarlett, the parish caretaker fondly known as "Old Scarlett," at age 98; he is buried in the Cathedral and remembered with a painting and rhyme above the west door
- 1643
- Peterborough, a Royalist city, is taken by Oliver Cromwell in the Civil War; his troops destroy nearly all stained glass, the altar, reredos, Lady Chapel, cloisters, and library
- 1653-54
- Construction of Thorpe Hall for Lord Chief Justice Oliver St John, using stone from the destroyed monastic buildings of Peterborough Cathedral
- 1666
- The Black Death returns to Peterborough, killing about a third of the townspeople while the cathedral's clergy flee the city
- 1822-30
- Dean James Henry Monk leads major restoration work at Peterborough Cathedral to repair Civil War damage; most of this will be undone in the 1880s
- c. 1885
- Central tower of Peterborough Cathedral rebuilt for a second time, as part of a full restoration that includes new choir stalls, cathedra, choir pulpit, marble pavement, and high altar
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