Soke of Peterborough

Soke of Peterborough
1889–1965
Coat of arms
Soke of Peterborough shown within England, with 1890 borders
Capital	Peterborough
Area
• 1901	216.37 km2 (83.54 sq mi)
• 1961	216.37 km2 (83.54 sq mi)
Population
• 1901	41,122
• 1961	74,758
Status	Administrative county of the United Kingdom
Government	Soke of Peterborough County Council
• Motto	Cor Unum (One Heart)
History
• Established	1889
• Disestablished	1965
Succeeded by Huntingdon and Peterborough

The Soke of Peterborough was a historic area of England associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by its own county council, while the rest of Northamptonshire was administered by Northamptonshire County Council. The Soke was also described as the Liberty of Peterborough, or as the Nassaburgh hundred, and comprised, besides Peterborough, about thirty parishes.^[1] The Soke was abolished in 1965.

The area formed much of the present City of Peterborough unitary authority area in the post-1974 ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire. The Church of England dioceses of Peterborough and Ely still, however, follow the boundary of the Soke, with only the part of the city that is north of the River Nene lying within the Diocese of Peterborough,^[2][3] while urban areas south of the Nene, including Stanground and Fletton, are in the Diocese of Ely.

The term soke refers to a general legal term in medieval England referring to various concepts, including a jurisdiction of land or rights to hold a court or receive fines.