PETERBOROUGH, one of the smallest English cities, situated in a corner of the county of Northampton, on the confines of Huntingdonshire, seventy-nine miles from London. The city is by the new municipal law governed by a mayor, with four aldermen and twelve councillors, and returns to parliament two members, who are chosen by householders, most of whose dwellings are the property of the Earl Fitzwilliam, who consequently has a preponderating influence in the elections. The buildings are moderately handsome. There is a well-supplied market, which is held on each Saturday; but though provisions are cheap, it is not populous, and, from the vicinity to the fens, is generally deemed unhealthy. The population amounted in 1801 to 3449, in 1811 to 3674, in 1821 to 4598, and in 1831 to 5553.

The most interesting object in the city is the ancient abbey, converted into a cathedral at the time when this place was created the see of a bishop by King Henry VIII. This ancient edifice was spared at the general destruction of the religious buildings, because, as is commonly believed, it had been the place of interment of Catherine of Aragon. It was at the time of the suppression a very rich establishment, and only a small portion of the revenues was applied to form the chapter, which, besides the bishop, consisted of a dean, six prebendaries, a divinity reader, eight minor canons, and the same number of lay clerks and singing men. The present edifice was begun in the year 1117, but not finished till the year 1143. It had some additions made to it in the year 1177. Between the years 1200 and 1222 it was improved by the addition of glass windows. After the Reformation, it suffered much from the democratic party; but, in its present state, it exhibits some fine specimens of the architecture of remote ages. This church has one advantage over most of the other cathedrals, that it is less encumbered with surrounding buildings. The precincts are entered from the town under a Gothic archway, when the most imposing part of the building is at once displayed to the view; we mean the west front, to which there is nothing in Gothic architecture in England that will bear a comparison, except the west front of Wells Cathedral, and that of Rheims in France, both of which, though equal in extent, are far inferior to it in form, proportions, and general effect. There is a solemnity in the effect which it produces, observable in no other cathedral, and which is not unmixed with awe. There are other parts of this edifice much admired, such as the beautiful building which surrounds the choir, the central tower or lanthorn, the ceiling of the nave, the organ-screen, and the cloisters. The whole of this edifice has been beautified, improved, and ornamented, by the liberality of Dr Monk, now bishop of Gloucester.

The dimensions of the cathedral are as follow: The breadth of the western façade is a hundred and fifty-six feet; the length of the nave from the western wall to the entrance of the choir is two hundred and six feet, the breadth of it being thirty-five feet; the length of the transept is a hundred and eighty-four feet; and the length of the choir, from the entrance to the eastern extremity, is a hundred and twenty-eight feet. The total external length of the cathedral is four hundred and seventy-nine feet; the general height, from the pavement to the ceiling, is eighty-one feet, and to the top of the lanthorn a hundred and thirty-five feet.

The income of the bishopric is not large. In the king’s books it is charged at L.4141. 7s. 8d. per annum; but the gross value, according to the parliamentary return made by the bishop, is no more than L.3518. By the recent law it is to be augmented by the application of a portion of the revenue of the see of Ely; and, by the same law, the archdeaconry of Leicester is placed under the episcopal jurisdiction of the bishop of Peterborough.