ABSTRACT
Nineteenth-century antiquarianism drew a firm distinction between ‘local’ and ‘national’ forms of knowledge, which featured in the construction of expertise and authority in the field. Using debates over the architecture of Peterborough Cathedral and their reception as a case study, this paper argues that such hierarchies need to be problematized and may have been proposed more to benefit those whose expertise and authority had little external endorsement than as a valid characterization. The paper also includes discussion of the different interpretations of the chronology of Peterborough’s nave and west front and the evolution of understanding of its monastic plan, revealing the early genesis of many aspects of modern readings of the archaeological and documentary evidence.
