Pictures from the riverbank

The pictures showing views of the River Nene which were published in Looking Back (May 18) proved very popular.

So today, here are some more photographs of the river which will always be one of the city’s key features.

The picture (top left) is an aerial shot from 1973 looking down the Nene to Town Bridge.

In the foreground on the left is Brierley’s supermarket.

You can also see the Key Theatre, which at the time was still under construction.

The Lido, Bridge Street police station and the old bus station where the court buildings are now, are all in the photograph.

The picture top right will stir many memories as it shows Hammond’s boats which for many years provided a very much loved amenity on the river.

The business was set up in 1888 by John Sylvester Hammond. It was later run by his grandson Ted who became a very well known Peterborough face.

The business folded in the 1980s.

This photograph was taken in the 1920s. The chute that can be seen was used to channel snow cleared from city streets into the river.

The picture directly below it shows people swimming in the river. Before the lido opened in 1936 people often swam in the river and this was a safe spot known as The Bathing Place at the bottom of River Lane.

The picture, above centre, dates way back to the 1890s and shows Bridge Fair arriving on the bank of the river at Oundle Road.

The picture, above left, shows the river in the foreground with the cathedral a formidable, towering presence in the background.

If you have any tales from the riverbank to go with these pictures please get in touch.