Fletton

Fletton is a residential area and electoral ward of the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. For parliamentary purposes it falls within North West Cambridgeshire constituency.

Fletton
Fletton
Location within Cambridgeshire
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPETERBOROUGH
Postcode districtPE2
Dialling code01733

The area, which has given its name to "Fletton brick",[1] is home to Peterborough United F.C., who play at London Road Stadium.

Administration

Lying south of the River Nene, the area was historically part of Huntingdonshire (although not the present district of that name), rather than the Soke of Peterborough in Northamptonshire. It was divided into Old Fletton, which prior to the Local Government Act 1972 formed a separate town with its own council (Old Fletton Urban District) and New Fletton which, from 1874, was administered as part of Peterborough Municipal Borough. Some maps still show New Fletton (on the south bank of the river) as well as Old Fletton (further to the south) with the boundary at Fletton Spring.

In 1965, the administrative counties of Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough amalgamated as Huntingdon and Peterborough and, in 1974, Fletton became part of the Peterborough district of non-metropolitan Cambridgeshire.[2] In 1998, the city became a unitary authority area, but it continues to form part of Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes.[3]

Late 19th century maps show Fletton Spring rising in the west of the area (in what is now Orton Goldhay); since the development of the area the first sign of the spring is near Celta Road but it soon disappears underground, re-emerging near Fletton Fields, before being fenced in again and eventually merging with Stanground Lode in the east.

Industry
Town Bridge (1934) over the River Nene, traditional boundary between the Soke of Peterborough and Huntingdonshire.

The sub-soil is Oxford clay, the character of which led to the establishment of large brickworks which were economical to excavate. The area gave its name to the Fletton Brick Company and to Fletton Brick in the 19th century, when a large area of land was sold to investors; this eventually became the London Brick Company, now owned by Forterra Plc. The dominance of London Brick in the market during this period gave rise to some of the country's best known landmarks, built using the ubiquitous Flettons.[4] During the 1950s the requirement for workers in the brick industry was far greater than the numbers available locally, and as a result many Italians—initially housed in the old prisoner of war camps and in barracks and hostels belonging to the company—were recruited from the impoverished southern regions of Apulia and Campania.

By 1960, approximately 3,000 Italian men were employed by London Brick, mostly at the Fletton works.[5] Very soon after the first men had arrived, they were followed by around 2,000 Italian women, some of whom worked alongside the men, whilst others worked in sectors such as clothing, rubber, ceramics, food processing, agriculture and the National Health Service. Consequently, Fletton has a significant Italian population today. The Fleet complex, off the High Street, has been managed by the Italian Community Association since it opened in 1985[6] and accommodates the Italian honorary consul for Peterborough.[7]

Historically, diesel manufacturers, Perkins Engines (previously Joseph Farrow's canning factory) and Bennie Lifts (later Kone) also gave work to a large number of people locally. Elliot Medway, manufacturers of mobile classrooms, occupied a site on Glebe Road until its demolition in 2008, to make way for regeneration of the south bank.

Amenities
St Margaret's Church

The Anglican parish church, situated on Fletton Avenue, is dedicated to Saint Margaret.[8][9] Although in the Diocese of Ely, it has now been placed under the pastoral care of the Bishop of Peterborough, acting as Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Ely.[10][11] The former Italian Catholic mission church of Saint Anthony (San Antonio) was run by the Scalabrini Fathers for many years.[12] Fletton cemetery, also on Fletton Avenue, opened for burials in 1893.[13]

Old Fletton County Primary School is located in the area; secondary pupils attend nearby Stanground Academy and Nene Park Academy in Orton Longueville.

158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment (Volunteers), Royal Logistic Corps is headquartered at the Territorial Army centre on London Road.[14]

The Fletton Quays development comprises 6.4 hectares of previously derelict land and vacant buildings between the river and the Peterborough–March railway line.

Notable people

During the 19th century, Alfred Nicholson Leeds made several palaeontological discoveries in the Fletton brick pits.

See also

References
  1. The eponymous bricks are cheap and many hundreds of millions of them are used in building every year. Machine moulded and burned, they are uniform in shape with sharp square arises, dense and have moderately good strength (the average pressure at which they fail is around 21 N/mm2). The bricks are light creamy pink to dull red in colour and because of their hard, smooth surface "kiss marks" are distinct on the long faces in the form of three different colours. If it is to be plastered, two faces are indented to give a better grip; these are described as keyed Flettons.
  2. The Huntingdon and Peterborough Order 1964 (SI 1964/367), see Local Government Commission for England (1958 - 1967), Report and Proposals for the East Midlands General Review Area (Report No. 3), 31 July 1961 and Report and Proposals for the Lincolnshire and East Anglia General Review Area (Report No. 9), 7 May 1965
  3. The Cambridgeshire (City of Peterborough) (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 (SI 1996/1878), see Local Government Commission for England (1992), Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Cambridgeshire, October 1994 and Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Basildon & Thurrock, Blackburn & Blackpool, Broxtowe, Gedling & Rushcliffe, Dartford & Gravesham, Gillingham & Rochester upon Medway, Exeter, Gloucester, Halton & Warrington, Huntingdonshire & Peterborough, Northampton, Norwich, Spelthorne and the Wrekin, December 1995
  4. London Brick: 130 Years of History 1877–2007 Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Hanson Building Products, 2007
  5. Colpi, Terry The Italian Factor: The Italian Community in Great Britain (p. 149) Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 1991
  6. City's Italian community enjoys a Carnival celebration Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 12 February 2008
  7. Consular Network Consulate General of Italy in London, 1 July 2008
  8. Lewis, Samuel Fletton (St. Margaret) Topographical Dictionary of England (7th ed.) vol. 2 (pp. 241–244) S. Lewis & Co., London, 1848
  9. St. Margaret, Fletton, Cambridgeshire The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain and Ireland, the British Academy and Ron Baxter (retrieved 23 April 2008)
  10. RELIGION: Bishops bridge boundaries aboard boat Archived 26 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 2 August 2004
  11. Bridging the divide in a city Archived 7 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Diocese of Ely, Ref. 0471, 29 July 2004
  12. Beacock, Kirsten Vatican call to save a Fletton parish church Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 13 August 2010
  13. Peterborough cemeteries Peterborough City Council (retrieved 11 December 2012)
  14. 158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment (Volunteers) Archived 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine British Army (retrieved 11 December 2012)
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