History of Peterborough in Northamptonshire

Place:

Peterborough Northamptonshire

Names from historical writing:

The following appear as names for Peterborough. Follow the links for what the author actually said:

Name	Author	Source
MINSTER CLOSE PRECINCTS	John Marius Wilson	Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
NASSABURGH	John Bartholomew	Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
NASSABURGH	John Marius Wilson	Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
PETERBOROUGH	John Bartholomew	Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
PETERBOROUGH	John Marius Wilson	Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
PETERBOROUGH OR NASSABURGH	John Marius Wilson	Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).

NB: These variant names come from our collections of historical travel writing and descriptive gazetteers:

The above links take you to the first reference to this particular version of the name within a book of travel writing, or to the relevant gazetteer entry.
Some names may derive from research by antiquarian writers such as William Camden and Thomas Pennant into the Roman, Saxon and medieval names of places. Their claims are not always supported by modern place-name researchers.
References by travel writers to the place using its "normal" name are not included. Descriptive gazetteer entries are included only if the name does not appear anywhere else.

Names for administrative units:

These names were used for units associated with Peterborough. Click on the links for details of the units and their names:

Name	Unit Type	Source
00JA	District/Unitary Authority (UA)	Census of Population (2001 Key Statistics)
BOONGATE	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 296.
E180498	Local Government District (MB)
E180507	Local Government District (RD)
JOHN ST THE BAPTIST	Parish-level Unit (CP/AP)	1831 Census of Great Britain, Table [1], 'Population Abstract'.
MINSTER CLOSE	Parish-level Unit (CP/ExP)	1831 Census of Great Britain, Table [1], 'Population Abstract'.
MINSTER CLOSE PRECINCTS	Parish-level Unit (CP/ExP)	1871 Census of England and Wales, Table 4, 'Area; Houses and Inhabitants, 1861 and 1871, in the Parishes and Places comprised in each Superintendent Registrar's District'.
NASSABOROUGH	Ancient District (Liberty/Hundred)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 711.
NASSABURGH	Ancient District (Liberty/Hundred)	1831 Census of Great Britain, Table [1], 'Population Abstract'.
NASSABURGH OR PETERBOROUGH	Ancient District (Liberty/Hundred)	1831 Census of Great Britain, Table [1], 'Population Abstract'.
NORTHAMPTON PETERBOROUGH	Constituency (PDivCon)	Boundary Commission for England & Wales, Report of the Boundary Commission (England and Wales) (London: H.M.S.O., 1917)
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE AND SOKE OF PETERBOROUGH PETERBOROUGH	Constituency (PDivCon)	Richard H.A. Cheffins, Parliamentary Constituencies and their registers since 1832 (London: The British Library, 1998)
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE AND THE SOKE OF PETERBOROUGH PETERBOROUGH	Constituency (CCon/BCon)	F.W.S. Craig (ed.), British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1970 (Chichester: Political Reference Publications, 1971)
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE PETERBOROUGH	Constituency (CCon/BCon)	Boundary Commission for England, First Periodical Report (London: H.M.S.O., 1954)
NORTHANTS PETERBOROUGH	Constituency (PDivCon)	Richard H.A. Cheffins, Parliamentary Constituencies and their registers since 1832 (London: The British Library, 1998)
PETERBOROUGH	Ancient District (AD_City/Borough)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 712.
	Ancient District (Liberty/Hundred)	1831 Census of Great Britain, Table [1], 'Population Abstract'.
	Constituency (PBCon)	Richard H.A. Cheffins, Parliamentary Constituencies and their registers since 1832 (London: The British Library, 1998)
	Constituency (PDivCon)	F.W.S. Craig (ed.), British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
	Constituency (CCon/BCon)	Richard H.A. Cheffins, Parliamentary Constituencies and their registers since 1832 (London: The British Library, 1998)
	Diocese	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 869.
	District/Unitary Authority (UA)	Census of Population (2001 Key Statistics)
	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
	Local Government District (RD)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Southern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979), p. 630.
	Local Government District (MB)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 712.
	New Town	London Gazette, No. 44377, p. 8515, 1 August 1967; Peterborough New Town (Designation) Order, 1967.
	Parish-level Unit (CP/AP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
	Parish-level Unit (CP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
	Poor Law Union/Reg. District (RegD/PLU)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 712.
	Registration sub-District	1911 Census of England and Wales, Table 5, 'Registration Counties, Districts and Sub-districts with their constituent civil parishes. - Urban or Rural District in which each parish is situated; Area; families or separate occupiers, and population, 1901 and 1911; and population enumerated in Institutions, large establishments, and on vessels, &c., 1911'.
	Rural Deanery	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 869.
	Rural Deanery	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 867.
	Sanitary District (USD)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 713.
	Sanitary District (RSD)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 713.
	Urban Labour Market	Great Britain Historical GIS Project
PETERBOROUGH ALL SAINTS	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH CHRIST THE CARPENTER	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH CITY OF	Local Government District (MB)	1931 Census of England and Wales, Table 3, 'Industries (condensed list) of Males and Females (exclusive of persons out of work)'.
PETERBOROUGH I	Rural Deanery	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 869.
PETERBOROUGH II	Rural Deanery	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 869.
PETERBOROUGH MINSTER CLOSE PRECINCTS	Parish-level Unit (CP/ExP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH MINSTER PRECINCTS	Parish-level Unit (CP/ExP)	1911 Census of England and Wales, Table 5, 'Registration Counties, Districts and Sub-districts with their constituent civil parishes. - Urban or Rural District in which each parish is situated; Area; families or separate occupiers, and population, 1901 and 1911; and population enumerated in Institutions, large establishments, and on vessels, &c., 1911'.
PETERBOROUGH SOKE OF	Administrative County	1951 Census of England and Wales, Table 20, 'Selected Occupations with Status Aggregates', for 'EW, Regions of E, W, Con, AC, CB, MetB, Urban Areas with Population of 50,000 or more'.
PETERBOROUGH ST BARNABAS	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH ST JOHN THE BAPTIST	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH ST JOHN THE BAPTIST	Parish-level Unit (CP/AP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH ST JUDE	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH ST MARK	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH ST MARY	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 296.
PETERBOROUGH ST PAUL	Ecclesiastical Parish (EP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH WITHIN	Parish-level Unit (CP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBOROUGH WITHOUT	Parish-level Unit (CP)	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 307.
PETERBROUGH	Ancient District (AD_City/Borough)	1801 Census of Great Britain, Table [1], 'Population Abstract'.
PETERBROUGH	Ancient District (Liberty/Hundred)	1801 Census of Great Britain, Table [1], 'Population Abstract'.
SOKE OF PETERBOROUGH	Administrative County	F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Northern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991), p. 731.
SOKE OF PETERBOROUGH	Constituency (PDivCon)	Richard H.A. Cheffins, Parliamentary Constituencies and their registers since 1832 (London: The British Library, 1998)
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST	Parish-level Unit (CP/AP)	1871 Census of England and Wales, Table 4, 'Area; Houses and Inhabitants, 1861 and 1871, in the Parishes and Places comprised in each Superintendent Registrar's District'.

NB: These are all the names of all the administrative units which we have associated with Peterborough, and you must judge whether all or even any of them are variant names for the place. They may well include the names of other locations or areas:

For cities, the associated administrative units will usually include parishes, especially ecclesiastical parishes, one of whose names is the name of the city followed by a saint's dedication, with just the saint's name as another variant. Parish names will sometimes also include "places" within towns.
Districts usually contain more than one settlement, and some districts had their names changed to take the name of a completely different settlement. As we link each administrative unit to just one of our "places", usually the last place the unit was named after, in these cases the name for a completely different place will appear on this page.
Similarly, a unit may sometimes be named after a particular settlement it contains and sometimes to indicate its location within a higher level unit. This was very common among British parliamentary constituencies in rural areas, one name referring to their main town and another indicating that they were in, say, the southern part of the relevant county.

Every name listed here is linked to the particular historical source in which it appears, but we cannot claim that these are all the historical names of Peterborough, or that our references are to the first usage of the names. Similarly, we have tried to ensure that names included here are not transcription errors by ourselves, but it is possible they are the result of errors made when the historical sources were printed, or the result of visiting authors or census officials mis-hearing local names.

How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Peterborough in Northamptonshire | Place names, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/784/names

Date accessed: 17th April 2025