An abbey was founded on the site around 655 by either Saxulf or Peada the first Christian king of Mercia. The abbey was conconsecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 655. At the end of the 9th century the Danes invaded and raised the abbey to the ground. The abbey lay in ruins until the Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, with help from King Edgar rebuilt the abbey and consecrated it in 972 in the presence of Archbishops Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of York. The second abbey was run under the rule of the Benedictines. The abbey, dedicated to St. Peter, had a wall built around it for defence and the name changed to Burgh St. Peter where Burgh means fortified. In 1066 Leofric, the abbot of Peterborough, stood at Harold's side at Hastings but was wounded and died. His successor Brando mistakenly supported Edgar the Atheling instead of William the Conqueror and when William enforced his rule Brando had to pay him a fine. A Norman abbot was installed at Peterborough when Brando died in 1069. In 1116 fire struck the abbey and the building was badly damaged. Rebuilding work began in 1118 and took 120 years to complete. The building was consecrated in 1238 by the Bishop of Lincoln, Grosseteste. The abbey became a Cathedral in 1541 after the abbeys were dissolved in 1539. Notable people to be buried here are Catherine of Aragon who was divorced from Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots who was buried here before being moved to Westminster Abbey.
Moving south again from York, The Danes entered East Anglia, attacking and destroying the many religious in the area including the monastery at was what to become Peterborough. The King of East Anglia, Edmund raised an army to attack the Danes but was captured and killed.
After the devastating fire of 1116 work began on rebuilding the abbey at Peterborough. The central area including choir and transept were begun first. Work continued until 1155.
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