Peterborough

Peterborough is a cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district of Cambridgeshire, England. The city and its surroundings, the Soke of Peterborough, had a independent county council between 1889 and 1965. It formed part of the short-lived Huntingdon and Peterborough between 1965 and 1974. Before 1889, it was a liberty of Northamptonshire.

The city is 76 mi north of London, on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea 30 mi to the north-east. The local topography is flat, and in some places, the land lies below sea level, for example in parts of the Fens to the east and to the south of Peterborough. Human settlement in the area began before the Bronze Age, as can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the current city centre, also with evidence of Roman occupation. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the establishment of a monastery, Medeshamstede, which later became Peterborough Cathedral.