The street on which Peterborough Museum lies dates back the the 12th Century from when monks of Peterborough Abbey would have walked. The first recorded building here was in the 16th Century when the Orme family were given the land by King Henry VIII in 1538, building their home 'Neville Place'. It is thought that some of the original foundations survive from Neville Place in the cellars and elsewhere in the current building. The main part of the current building dates from 1816, when it was a grand Georgian house for former Manchester businessman and Peterborough magistrate, Thomas Cooke and his new wife Charlotte. He lived in the building until his death in 1854. The mansion was sold on 1856 to the 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam who gave permission for the building to be used as Peterborough's first hospital. Although altered after 1884 due to a fire, it continued being the city hospital until 1928. Later on in years the Museum building was acquired and donated by Percy Malcolm Stewart, eventually opening in 1931 and run by the Museum Society. The Museum and its collections have been managed by Peterborough City Council since 1968, when the Museum Society gave them to the city. Many of the original Georgian features can still be seen today, as can traces of its use as a hospital, in fact the modern conservation room is the old operating theatre! The Museum also has a darker side to its past, and is said to be the most haunted building in the city. Paranormal sightings include a grey figure, said to be a WWI soldier, a ghostly kitchen maid who fell to her death on the back stairs, a dark male presence and a ghostly Roman soldier. A white lady who follows visitors around the upper floor of the building is also seen, while there is recorded Poltergeist activity, slamming doors, strange noises, ghostly footsteps and voices.

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