City of Peterborough
§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.
Peterborough’s city status was granted in 1541 when its great abbey became a cathedral and this was reconfirmed in 1974; historically a religious centre that industrialised through railways and brickmaking, it regained full local powers in 1998 as a unitary authority and since 2017 has been a constituent of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority under a directly elected mayor.
City Council Status
Peterborough City Council has operated as a unitary authority since 1998; the area’s city status dates to 1541 when the cathedral see was created.
In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.