Kiln Quarter

The Kiln Quarter stretches across the southern reaches of Peterborough, encompassing Woodston, Fletton, Stanground, Farcet, Yaxley, and Norman Cross. This is the historic heartland of the city’s brickmaking industry, where rich clay deposits fuelled one of the most important manufacturing booms in Victorian and 20th-century Britain. 

The distinctive Fletton brick, produced in colossal quantities, helped build cities across the UK — and in turn shaped Peterborough’s own rapid expansion. Kilns, chimneys, and clay pits once dominated the skyline here, and although many have disappeared, their influence is still visible in the street patterns, housing styles, and industrial landmarks.

Neighbourhoods in the quarter grew around factories and transport routes, fostering strong working-class communities. Today, the area blends this industrial heritage with diverse residential neighbourhoods, riverside walks, and strategic transport links — including the A1(M) and East Coast Main Line. Norman Cross, at the southern tip, holds a different kind of history as the site of Britain’s first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp, dating back to the Napoleonic Wars.

Westwood, lying to the west of the city centre along the rail corridor, also forms part of The Kiln Quarter’s industrial heritage zone. Once central to post-war housing and service provision for workers, its industrial and post-industrial character reinforces the quarter’s story of work, resilience, and urban growth.

The Kiln Quarter’s identity is one of making — a legacy of craft, production, and resilience that can inspire new forms of creative and industrial tourism.