Peterborough, diocese of

views updated May 17 2018

Peterborough, diocese of. The see, now comprising Northamptonshire and parts of Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire, was founded by Henry VIII in 1541 out of the Lincoln diocese. In the 7th cent. Penda's son Peada founded a monastery here which was rebuilt and dedicated to St Peter in 970, hence the town's name. In 1837 Leicestershire was transferred to the see from Lincoln. Distinguished bishops include the historian Mandell Creighton (1891–7), author of The History of the Papacy. The cathedral was built between 1118 and 1237 as the Benedictine abbey church. It has a dignified Norman nave, a 13th-cent. west front, and 15th-cent. fan-vaulted retrochoir. Catherine of Aragon was buried there.

Revd Dr William M. Marshall

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