The economic development of Peterborough reflects a number of different influences. It traces a history as a settlement from the Bronze Age with the creation in Anglo-Saxon times of the monastery that is now Peterborough Cathedral. It prospered as a market town for many years but its economic fortunes transformed by the opening of the railway station in 1850 that was part of the Great Northern Railway line from London to York. More recently, it became a New Town and this has had a considerable impact on the growth of its economy.
