Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative and geographical county in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

Formation

The

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

created four small neighbouring administrative counties in the east of England: Cambridgeshire,

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, and the

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a Local Government Boundary Commission was formed to review county-level administration in England and Wales. The commission was of the opinion that counties needed to have a population of between 200,000 and one million in order to provide effective services. Accordingly, they recommended the amalgamation of all four counties into a single entity. The commission's recommendations were not carried out, however. The reform of local government was returned to in 1958, with the appointment of a Local Government Commission for England. The four counties were included in the East Midlands General Review Area, and the LGCE made its draft proposals in 1960. The commission identified particular problems in the administration of the Soke of Peterborough, where 80% of the population of the county lay within the City of Peterborough, which was itself seeking county borough status. The LGCE concluded that the Soke was too small to continue as a separate county, and needed to become part of a larger authority. Accordingly, the draft proposals were to combine the Isle of Ely, Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough with Cambridgeshire (less the City of Cambridge). There was considerable opposition to the draft proposals, and the LGCE instead opted in its final report in 1961 to create two counties: Huntingdon and Peterborough, and

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was, from 1965 to 1974, an administrative county, administrative and Geographical counties of England, geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. In 1974 it became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire. ...

. The Huntingdon and Peterborough Order was made on 14 February 1964, and placed before the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

on 9 March 1964. The amalgamation was welcomed by David Renton, the member of parliament (MP) for

, who felt that "The new county will have very good communications and a great community of interest. It will be a compact and convenient local government unit." The order was approved by 143 votes to 83. The new county was formed on 1 April 1965 from the areas of the administrative counties of Huntingdonshire and Soke of Peterborough (with minor boundary changes) and Thorney Rural District from the

. As well as becoming an administrative county, Huntingdon and Peterborough also became a county for other statutory purposes. Accordingly, the Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire became Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdon and Peterborough, with Peterborough ceasing to be part of the geographical county of Northamptonshire. A high sheriff was also appointed to the new county, and a single commission of peace and court of quarter sessions established. The county's population, as recorded at the ten-yearly census, was 202,622 in 1971.

Emergency services

On the creation of the county, an order under the Police Act 1964 came into force creating the Mid-Anglia Constabulary by merging the Cambridge City Police, Cambridgeshire County Constabulary, Isle of Ely Constabulary, Huntingdonshire Constabulary, and the Peterborough Combined Police Force (created in 1947 from the Liberty of Peterborough Constabulary and the Peterborough City Police). On further local government reform in 1974, the present Cambridgeshire Constabulary was formed with the same boundaries. The Huntingdon and Peterborough Fire Brigade was formed on the same date by the merger of Huntingdonshire Fire Brigade and the Soke of Peterborough Fire Brigade. Since 1974 this has formed part of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Districts

The county was divided into thirteen local government districts: three

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

s, three urban districts and seven

rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...

s. Each of these existed as subdivisions of the predecessor counties. † Formerly in Huntingdonshire ‡ Formerly in Soke of Peterborough ¶ Formerly in Isle of Ely Source: Vision of Britain

Coat of arms

Huntingdon and Peterborough County Council was granted armorial bearings by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

on 3 April 1965. The blazon was as follows: ''Barry argent and azure on a fess embattled vert a cornucopia between two garbs or; and for a crest issuant from a mural crown or a demi lion gules gorged with a collar flory counterflory and supporting a staff or, flying therefrom a banner vert charged with two keys in saltire or; mantled azure, doubled argent. And for supporters on the dexter side a pikeman of the

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

supporting with the exterior hand a pike, and on the sinister side a mitred abbot in processional vestments for St Peter's Day supporting with the exterior hand a crosier and sudarium all proper. Badge: Two keys in saltire surmounted by a buglehorn or the strings azure interlaced with the keys.'' The arms and crest were a combination of the arms previously used by Huntingdonshire and Soke of Peterborough County Councils. To these were added

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

: a pikeman of the New Model Army for the Cromwellian associations of Huntingdonshire, and a mitred abbot for the origins of the Soke as territory administered by Peterborough Abbey. The

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

adopted by the council – ''Cor Unum'', or ''One Heart –'' was formerly that of the Soke.

Abolition

The county had only a nine-year existence. In 1974 the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

completely reformed administrative structures throughout England and Wales excluding

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. A system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, each divided into districts, was introduced. Huntingdon and Peterborough was merged with neighbouring Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely to form the new enlarged

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

(and lieutenancy) of Cambridgeshire, first proposed in 1947.

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

and

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

became two of the county's six districts; in 1984, following a resolution of the council, the latter district was renamed Huntingdonshire. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972 (SI 1972/2039) Part 5: County of Cambridgeshire, see

Local Government Boundary Commission for England The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is a parliamentary body established by statute to conduct boundary, electoral and structural reviews of local government areas in England. The LGBCE is independent of government and po ...

Legacy

There is now a Hunts & Peterborough County Rugby Union that takes all the teams from each area and has representative teams for Youth rugby.

References

{{coord, 52.3500, N, 0.1833, W, source:wikidata, display=title History of Huntingdonshire History of Peterborough Politics of Peterborough Counties of England established in 1965 Counties of England disestablished in 1974 Local government in Cambridgeshire Politics of Huntingdonshire it:Soke of Peterborough