Orton, Peterborough

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New Town architecture in the Ortons

Orton is residential area of the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. For electoral purposes it comprises Orton Longueville, Orton Waterville and Orton with Hampton wards in North West Cambridgeshire constituency.

Orton was designated the second township in the New Town expansion of Peterborough in 1967. It is composed of the ancient villages of Orton Waterville and Orton Longueville, together with the newer developments of Orton Brimbles, Orton Goldhay, Orton Malbourne, Orton Southgate, Orton Wistow and most recently Orton Northgate. All lie south of the River Nene and are thus historically in Huntingdonshire, though not the current local government district of that name.

In common with many New Towns the Ortons are characterised by extensive landscaping and tree planting. The A605 runs through the Ortons, connecting Peterborough to the A1(M) which runs from London to Edinburgh. There is no church as such in Orton Wistow or Orton Northgate, however these both fall within the parish of St. Andrew's, Alwalton.

In 2001 Anglia Regional Co-operative Society closed its Rainbow supermarket at Orton Centre, as it could not compete with the Tesco Extra which had opened at nearby Serpentine Green in Hampton. On 10 December 2007 it was announced that the store at Werrington Centre would transfer to Tesco on 26 January 2008, with Rainbow returning to its former premises at Orton.^[1]

1 Orton Brimbles
2 Orton Goldhay
3 Orton Longueville
4 Orton Malborne
5 Orton Northgate
6 Orton Southgate
7 Orton Waterville
8 Orton Wistow
9 References

[edit] Orton Brimbles

This is an area of mixed public and private sector housing dating almost entirely from the 1980s. Orton Brimbles contains the Ortons' first and only purpose built solar powered houses at Gostwick. There is also a mainstream primary school called Matley, which has specialist provision for children with physical disabilites and visual impairments.

[edit] Orton Goldhay

Orton Goldhay was laid out from the mid 1970s by Peterborough Development Corporation as part of the second township for the city. The area is largely residential but contains the district shopping centre known as Orton Centre, and one of the Ortons' two secondary schools, Bushfield Community College. Much of the housing here was built for the public sector and originally housed overspill population from London.

[edit] Orton Longueville

The perils of Giant Hogweed in the Ortons

Until the 1960s Orton Longueville was a village separated from Peterborough by open farmland. The 'village' contains many pre 20th century buildings including Orton Hall, once used as a prisoner of war camp during the Second World War (now a hotel), several thatched cottages, a cricket field and a church. There is still a village green and close by is a half mile long plantation of Redwood trees known as the 'Long Walk'.

[edit] Orton Malborne

Similar in character to Orton Goldhay, this area was also created from the mid 1970s and lies along the dedicated bus route leading into central Peterborough. There is a district shopping and community centre here known as Herlington.

[edit] Orton Northgate

The latest addition to 'the Ortons' and the fastest growing, Orton Northgate previously formed part of the East of England Showground site. Peterborough Business Park is situated here and contains the headquarters of the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society which was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1988.

Orton Northgate's local Anglican church is St. Andrew's, Alwalton [1]

[edit] Orton Southgate

Is mainly a business area containing offices and factories of Nokia, Telewest, NCR and others. It also contains a housing area which was partly built by Persimmon Homes around 1995, and added to by a small group of David Wilson Homes in around 1997. Building work still continues today, as the residential area grows larger thanks to the selling off of land by the East of England Showground.

[edit] Orton Waterville

One of the original 'Ortons', Orton Waterville also retains a village atmosphere and contains many thatched and stone built cottages and the 13th century parish church of St Mary's.

[edit] Orton Wistow

Orton Wistow was laid out during the 1980s by private developers, with the last developments being completed circa 1992. This development lies adjacent to the Country Park known as Ferry Meadows and the Nene Valley Railway There is a primary school called Orton Wistow Primary School.