Roll up for a roll call of Peterborough Cathedral’s finest women in history
March 3, 2021
The latest in a series of online ‘Zoom Talks’ at Peterborough Cathedral will reveal, among other things, an intriguing link between the nursing heroine Edith Cavell and Henry VII’s mother.
To coincide with the week which includes International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021, Cathedral tour guide Kate Brown will share this fascinating story and many others involving the city’s famous and remarkable women.
Her presentation will take place on Thursday 11 March at 7.30pm and again on Saturday 13 March at 4.00pm. Tickets are £5.00 and they are available via the Cathedral website (www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/143/section.aspx/142/women_kate).
“Researching a particular aspect of Cathedral history was guaranteed to unearth the unexpected,” says Kate. “What makes it even better is to share it with others who’re as interested as me in history and how it all affects us today.”
Kate will also shed light on influential Anglo-Saxon saints such as Kyneburgha who founded a convent at Castor and whose Feast Day falls in March; Kyneswitha, the second abbess there; and Tibba – thought to be the niece of King Penda – who established her own convent at Ryhall.
She will make reference to the influence of King Edgar’s wife and the connection with Peterborough’s second Abbey, and flesh out the history of the Cathedral’s other nursing pioneer, Florence Saunders, and local headmistress Margaret Gibson.
Next in the queue of Zoom Talks is one focussing on the Cathedral’s iconic 13th century wooden ceiling. Tour guide Mark Short will assess its importance, its charmed life and unique painted decoration. Mark’s talk will take place on Thursday 22 April at 7.30pm and again on Saturday 24 April at 4.00pm. Tickets are £5.00 and available via www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/143/section.aspx/142/nave_ceiling.
Online lecture topics later in 2021 include a look at the life, death and legacy of the Northumbrian King, St Oswald by Dr Johanna Dale and The English Civil War by Stuart Orme of the Oliver Cromwell Museum.