1839: 'The Charter' reports on this day that in just ten years, three respectable natives of Peterborough have taken conspicuous situations attracting the notice of their own townsmen and the public in general. Eminent mechanic Francis Ruddle came to London to put a new organ case in Westminster Abbey; Sir Chapman Marshall had been elected to become the Lord Mayor of London; and Mr Robert West arrived from Peterborough to execute the duties of his office on Lord Mayor's day, being regularly appointed hairdresser to the Lord Mayor of London! (The Charter)

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.