Cathedral Square, Peterborough City Centre.

Cathedral Square could probably be best described as the heart of the city. Many of the buildings that surround the 'square' have been standing for many years. However, many changes have taken place over the years. It was originally referred to as the Market Place simply because that's where the local market was held. Traffic was able to run from Cowgate to Long Causeway/Broadway or Bridge Street. Development in the late 1970s early 1980s put a stop to the traffic. Bridge Street is no longer able to accept traffic at all and Cowgate & Long Causeway is very limited access only.

The Market Place decorated for Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897.

A coloured photograph/postcard taken from 1898 of Cathedral Square. The fountain that is pictured on the right hand side was later moved to Bishops Road Gardens.

Peterborough Town Hall, circa 1900. The town hall was later relocated to Bridge Street where it remains today.

A coloured photograph/postcard taken from 1900 that shows the 'Market Place' as it was known then.

The original photograph of the coloured version above.

A parade taking place in Cathedral Square after an unveiling at the Cathedral by Lord Roberts, photographed 1903.

A coloured photograph/postcard taken from 1904 that shows the empty 'Market Square'

The Guildhall photographed circa 1910.

Market Place circa 1910.

Market Place photographed in 1922.

A view from the Guildhall across a typical bust market day. Photograph taken circa 1940.

A very busy Market Place photographed circa 1950. Since the late 1970s/early 1980s traffic is no longer able to drive along Bridge Street which is to the left of the above photograph.

A coloured photograph/postcard taken from circa 1960.

The Guildhall & Cathedral Square photographed circa 1970.

A view from the Guildhall across part of Cathedral Square, circa 1970.

The Guildhall photographed circa 1970. This photograph was found in an old unknown book and had the following interesting text:

The Butter Cross

In 1876 the new City Corporation bought it from the Feoffees and decided to call it the Guildhall which it certainly never was. The lower part was the Market Cross and was probably built before the Church.

By 1600 it belonged to the Feoffees who took rent from the stallholders under it although the Dean and Chapter owned the Market. In 1671 to celebrate the visit of Charles II they put two storeys on it to replace the Moot Hall at the corner of Cumbergate which was no longer fit for their meetings and the room which in 1876 became the Council Chamber was always the 'Room over the Cross'.

It was used for many purposes. At first it was the general hall in the city for public meetings until larger ground floor premises like the Drill Hall or the Corn Exchange were built in the Nineteenth century. In 1800 it housed Mrs Ireland's Free School whose headmaster Mr. Hooke was one of the more enlightened pedagogues of his day. He taught geography and the Museum Society have one or two of his maps. At the same time it came in for auction sales and the meetings of the Improvement Commissioners and the early Boards of Guardians.

Below, it housed the Butter Market. Country women brought a basket of a few pounds of butter or a score of eggs each Saturday and having paid a penny for a chair would sell them. By the 20th century the women were fewer and were rather dealers than producers and by 1927 when the market was closed only one, Mrs Bellairs, was left and she had a stall on the general market.