Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough, England
1-25
/
37
- c. 655
- Peada, son of King Penda of Mercia, founds a monastery called Medeswell, later Medehamstede ("the home/farmstead in the water meadows"), on the north bank of the River Nene
- c. 1000
- A monk from Peterborough Abbey steals the arm of St Oswald (d. 642) from Bamburgh Castle, making Peterborough a major pilgrimage destination
- 1070
- Hereward the Wake (a.k.a. Hereward the Exile) raids Peterborough and its abbey with an army of Danish mercenaries
- 1071
- William the Conqueror lodges 60 knights on Peterborough Abbey's estates and constructs a motte and bailey castle near the abbey
- 1116
- A fire, probably from a bakery, destroys most of Peterborough and its abbey; only the chapter-house and dormitory survive
- 1118-1238
- Construction of Peterborough Abbey's new church, which survives today as Peterborough Cathedral
- 1216
- King John stays at Peterborough Abbey while waging war in the region, perhaps leaving a draft copy of Magna Carta
- c. 1230-c. 1250
- Creation of the painted wooden ceiling of Peterborough Cathedral, which survives intact today
- 1308
- "License to crenellate" is granted to Peterborough Cathedral, enabling fortification of the monastic gateway and King's Lodging
- 1314
- King Edward II stays at Peterborough Abbey on his way to Scotland, where he will be defeated at the Battle of Bannockburn
- c. 1370
- Peterborough Abbey's central tower is renovated; its main beams and roof bosses date from this period
- 1461
- Peterborough's abbey and town are sacked by a Lancastrian army during the Wars of the Roses, due to its association with Fotheringhay Castle, seat of the House of York
1-25
/
37