St John's Bells and Tower

The ring of eight bells were recast in 1675 after the Restoration, again in 1808 and rededicated in 1947 after an overhaul.

A nineth bell cast in 1675 by W Hawkins Tobie Norris is known as the Priest's Bell.

The sixteenth century was an eventful time for St John's. Its bells sounded for the funerals in the cathedral of Katharine of Aragon (1536) and Mary, Queen of Scots (1587) . During the Second World War, the silence of the bells was only broken in celebration of the victory at El Alamein in 1942.

The bellringers meet regularly and new members are warmly welcomed.

Tower Captain - Paul Reed 01733 266633

Clock Mechanism	Carillon

The 19th century carillon was restored in 1991 though some of the tunes that it plays have yet to be identified.

Matthew Wyldebore

Matthew Wyldebore lived at the mansion house in Westgate (now part of the Bull Hotel) and was twice elected MP for Peterborough between 1768 - 74. He died on the 15th March 1781, and a memorial stone was erected in the Lady Chapel to commemorate his life. He bequeathed a legacy to the church to pay for a peal of bells and a sermon on the anniversary of his death. This is reputedly in gratitude for finding his way to safety through the mists on Peterborough Common by making for the sound of St John's bells. The payments were ten shillings per rope and one pound for the sermon.

Developments around St John's

The Norwich Union building known as the Corn Exchange sited to the west of St John's was demolished in 2009 as part of the redevelopment of the City Centre. A new view of St John's tower emerged.