Matthew Wyldbore

Matthew Wyldbore was born circa 1716, the son of John Wyldbore of Peterborough and Elizabeth Neale, daughter of Noah Neale of Stamford Baron. He was baptised on 15 April 1716 at the church of Saint John the Baptist, Peterborough.

He served as Whig Member of Parliament for Peterborough, 1768–1780, and died in 1781.

A monument to Wyldbore's memory can be found in the Lady Chapel of Saint John's Parish Church, Peterborough. Wyldbore has a particular connection with Saint John's Church because of a legacy he left to the bellringers, reputedly in gratitude for having found his way safely through the mists on Peterborough Common, by making for the sound of St John's bells.^[1] Wyldbore left a bequest for a peal of bells on the anniversary of his death, a tradition which continues to the present day each 15 March.^[2]

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