Clare Country

Clare Country lies to the north-west of Peterborough, embracing the villages of Helpston, Glinton, Northborough, Peakirk, Etton, Maxey, Barnack, Wittering, and their surrounding landscapes. It is a place of rolling meadows, stone-built cottages, winding lanes, and big skies — a countryside that still reflects the scenes captured by John Clare in his poetry two centuries ago.

Helpston, at the heart of the quarter, is the birthplace of Clare (1793–1864), whose work captured the everyday beauty of rural life, the rhythms of the farming year, and the voices of his neighbours in dialect and song. Clare wrote of the fields, hedgerows, birdsong, and flowers that surrounded him, but also chronicled the social and environmental changes brought by enclosure and the loss of traditional ways of life. His work stands as a testament to the value of local heritage and the deep relationship between people and place.

The heritage here is rich and layered. Barnack is famed for its Anglo-Saxon church and “Barnack Rag” limestone, once quarried to build cathedrals and castles across England. Glinton’s St Benedict’s Church, with its soaring spire, appears in Clare’s poems and remains a landmark across the flat fenland horizon. Northborough holds the manor house where Elizabeth Cromwell, widow of Oliver Cromwell, lived in her later years. Peakirk preserves the tradition of St Pega, sister of St Guthlac, with a village church dedicated in her name. Maxey reveals traces of prehistoric causeways and Roman settlement, while Wittering holds both Saxon history and a living connection to the RAF and modern aviation.

This is a quarter where heritage is not frozen in time but remains part of daily life — a patchwork of ancient churches, farmsteads, wildlife meadows, and village greens, bound together by walking routes, bridleways, and quiet lanes. Its identity is not only literary, but also one of endurance and authenticity — a landscape still speaking in its own voice.