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Born in Berwick upon Tweed, reputedly the illegitimate son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, Governor of Berwick from 1568. Matriculated as sizar from Christ's College, Cambridge, 1585; graduated BA 1589; made fellow of St John's 1591; proceeded MA 1592. Transferred to Christ's, 1597; proceeded BD 1599; resigned his fellowship 1600. Married Dorothy Coke, sister of John Coke (secretary of state from 1625) and George Coke, a contemporary of Carey's at St John's and later Bishop of Hereford. He was made a prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral in 1601 and acquired a number of ecclesiastical offices over the next few years, including archdeacon of Shropshire from 1606 (resigned 1613) and prebendary of Lincoln from 1607. In 1610 he was appointed to the rectory of Toft, Cambridgeshire, at the instigation of Owen Gwyn, Bursar (later Master) of St John's. In 1610 he was also made Master of Christ's College, appointed by King James I. In 1612 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University. In 1614 he was made Dean of St Paul's. He was nominated as Bishop of Exeter by Owen Gwyn's cousin, John Williams, lord keeper and Bishop of Lincoln, and appointed to the post in 1621.

Professor Richard Perham was born on the 27th of April 1937, in Middlesex. He secured a scholarship to Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where he sat A-Levels in Pure and Applied Maths, Physics and Chemistry, as well as the entrance exam for Cambridge. He was the first in his family to go to university, but before coming to St John’s he undertook his national service in the Royal Navy.

As an undergraduate, Perham studied Natural Sciences with a specialisation in biochemistry, graduating in 1958. While studying for his PhD (1961), Perham and his supervisor Dr Ieuan Harris identified a key cysteine residue required for protein activity-- this was far from his only contribution to the field of science. In 1965, Perham was appointed Demonstrator in the Department of Biochemistry, and was also awarded a Fellowship to study at Yale University’s Department of Molecular Biophysics, where he met his future wife.

Perham’s achievements were many. He was known for his work on the chemistry of proteins and giant protein complexes, including the introduction of important techniques in the chemical modification of proteins, among numerous other fields. He held positions on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine and the Scientific Advistory Committee, among others, and spearheaded a transformation of the European Journal of Biochemistry as its Editor-in-Chief. He was a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a winner of the Max Planck Prize and Novartis Medal of the Biochemical Society. He was an author on more than 350 scientific papers.

Within Cambridge, Perham was made a Research Fellow of St John’s College in 1964, going on to become Director of Studies in Biochemistry, Biology of Cells and Genetics, and finally University Professor of Biochemistry in 1989. He was also a Tutor in College from 1967 to 1977, and participated in the May Ball Committee and the Lady Margaret Boat Club. He was President of College for four years beginning in 1983, and was elected Master of College in 2004.

Perham married Dr. Nancy Lane in 1969. They had two children, Temple and Quentin, and two grandchildren. He was a keen gardener, photographer and musician, interested in theatre, antiques and opera. He died on the 14th of February 2015, aged seventy-seven.

Gertrude Hayes was born in London on the 23rd of November 1872. She was educated at the Royal College of Art. During the course of her artistic career she exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy, and some of her works now reside in permanent collections across various museums including South Kensington, Liverpool and Los Angeles. She was a member of the Coventry and Warwickshire Society of Artists, and also spent a four year stint as Assistant Art Mistress of Rugby School from 1915-1919.

Hayes married twice, first to Alfred Kedington Moran, the Art Master of Rugby School. After his death in 1928, she remarried Edwin M. Betts, a former Art Master at Nottingham High School. She enjoyed travelling, motoring, and gardening, and died in 1956.

Pierce Brackenbury (c. 1632-1692), Fellow of St John's, and descendants. They held lands of St John's in Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, and Marton-cum-Grafton, Yorkshire.

Son of John Brackenbury of Sellaby near Barnard Castle, County Durham. Went to school at Guisborough, Yorkshire. Admitted to St John's as a pensioner, 1650, aged 16. Graduated BA, 1654/5; MA, 1658. A Fellow of St John's from 1656 until his death. He was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1656 and was licensed to practise medicine in 1662, graduating MD in 1665. His brothers Robert and Henry were also students at St John's. Pierce Brackenbury died in 1692.

Percival Edmund Gatty, usually known as Edmund Percival Gatty, was born on the 22nd June 1886 to Frederick Albert Gatty, a manufacturing chemist. He was educated at Orley Farm, before going on to Chichester Theological College. He recieved his B.A. in 1889, and was ordained priest in 1892. He held curacies in Brighton, Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and Leicestershire. In 1900 he became the vicar of Offley, Hertfordshire, and remained there until his retirement in 1925.

Gatty was an avid water-colour painter, and published the book A History of Offley and its Church in 1907. During the First World War, he was an ambulance driver with the French Army.

Gatty married Alice Mabel Wellwood Ker in 1899. They had one daughter, and one son: Hugh Percival Wharton Gatty, who went on to become a Fellow and Librarian of St John’s College. He died on the 30th December 1937.

John Drayton Wyatt was an architect who was born in 1820. He began working for Sir George Gilbert Scott, who designed the chapel at St John’s College, in 1841 as an assistant draughtsman. During his career, he contributed drawings to the Civil Engineer and Architects Journal, worked on the restoration of Sudeley Castle, and eventually became the diocesan architect for Bath and Wells. He died in 1891.

Charles II was born on the 29th of May 1630, at St James’s Palace. He was the second son of Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but the first to survive. When the English Civil War broke out in 1642, Charles spent most of the conflict with his father until he was sent to the west country to lead the royalist forces. When King Charles surrendered to the Scots, the prince went to his mother in France. His father was executed in January of 1649, and Charles ascended to the throne of Scotland, where he reigned until 1651. He was then exiled again to France.

With the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles returned to England and to the throne. He married Catherine of Braganza, the Portugeuse infanta. The couple had no children, but Charles himself had many children by various mistresses. With no legitimate heir, when Charles died on the 6th February 1685, he was succeeded to the throne by his brother, James II.

Sir Christopher Wren was born on 20th October 1623 in East Knoyle, Wiltshire. He was educated at home by both his father and a private tutor. The details of his schooling are not well-known, but he learned both to draw and to read Latin. Wren then entered Wadham College, Oxford, in June of 1650. He graduated BA the following year, and MA in 1653. In the same year, he was elected to a fellowship at All Souls College, but also spent much time in London. Wren continued to pursue his interests in invention and scientific research. In 1657, he was appointed to the chair of astronomy at Gresham College in the City of London. His inaugural lecture at the College survives in both Latin and English. In 1664, he was incorporated MA at Cambridge.

Wren is probably most famous for his contributions to the field of architecture. After the Reformation, his association with the Royal Society brought him to the attention of King Charles II, and he came to give unofficial advice on the restoration of St Paul’s Cathedral in 1661. Wren had mastered the art of architecture by the early 1660’s. His study of architecture led him to travel to France between 1665 and 1666, incidentally avoiding most of the Great Plague of London. Wren’s architectural projects included the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, a series of chapel screens in various Colleges, and the new chapel and cloister range at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. However, he is most famous for rebuilding St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London. He helped guide the regulations for building in London which followed the city’s recovery from the fire.

Wren married twice, both times briefly, and had two children with each of his wives. He died on the 25th February 1723, and was buried in the crypt at St Paul’s.

Born to Richard and Agnes Metcalfe of Askrigg, North Yorkshire, Nicholas Metcalfe studied at Cambridge (possibly at Michaelhouse) and graduated BA in 1495, MA in 1498, BTh in 1504, and DTh in 1507. He was released from lecturing duties in 1507 in order to conduct business on behalf of John Fisher, then Chancellor of England.

In 1512, Metcalfe became archdeacon of Rochester, one of many ecclesiastical positions he was to hold throughout his life. Other notable appointments include Rector of Henley, Oxfordshire (1510-1521); Rector of Woodham Ferrers, Essex (1517-1539); vicar of Southfleet, Kent (1531-1537); and canon and prebendary of Lincoln (1526-1539).

Metcalfe served as Master of St. John’s College, Cambridge from 1518 to 1537, following the resignation of his predecessor, Alan Percy. Working alongside John Fisher, Metcalfe greatly enhanced the College’s foundation during the course of his mastership, securing, for instance, properties such as Broomhall Priory in Berkshire and Higham Priory in Kent and acquiring a number of benefactions to support the fellows and scholars of the College. He was executor to Lady Margaret Beaufort.

Like Fisher, Metcalfe opposed the divorce of Henry VIII from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in 1533. However, his religious views and proximity to Fisher meant that, following Fisher’s execution in 1535, Metcalfe was subject to suspicion and was eventually summoned to London, where he testified to Thomas Cromwell. In 1537, he was compelled to resign his mastership. He died two years later in 1539 and was buried at Woodham Ferrers.

Illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, and Joan Hill. He spent his childhood in exile and came to England with Henry Tudor in 1485, who knighted him on 7 August 1485. He stopped using the surname Beaufort and took that of Somerset instead. He married Henry VII's ward, Elizabeth Herbert, the sole heir of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, in 1492. Through his wife he acquired substantial lands in Wales. He administered the marcher lordship of Glamorgan for the Crown and was awarded more lands and titles, making him the most powerful man in south Wales. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1496. In 1501 he was made Vice-Chamberlain of Henry VII's household. In 1504 he was created Baron Herbert. In 1509 Henry VIII made him Lord Chamberlain, head of the royal household. Both monarchs employed him on international military and diplomatic missions. He was created Earl of Worcester in 1514 and in the period 1518-1520 conducted negotiations with France, culminating in the Field of the Cloth of Gold, for the organisation of which he was mostly responsible. He died on 25 April 1526 and was buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

Chamberlain to Lady Margaret Beaufort after 1504 and an executor of her will.

Vicar of the Church of the Lady Margaret, Walworth, c 1930-1940.

Educated at St John's College, where he was made a Fellow in 1520. MA, 1521; BTh, 1531. Senior Bursar at St John's, 1535-1539. Held a benefice in the Diocese of Lincoln. Appointed as Headmaster of Shrewsbury School, 1561-1571. Under his headship, the school was attended by an increased number of sons of the nobility, with pupils from as far away as Buckinghamshire. Philip Sidney was a pupil there during his tenure. On retiring from Shrewsbury, entered the service of Walter Devereux, later 1st Earl of Essex, overseeing Devereux's affairs while he was away and acting as tutor to his son. He also worked for the Crown and was twice sent to Ireland: in 1574 to persuade the Essex to make peace with Turlough Luineach O'Neill, lord of Tír Eoghain, and in 1575 to communicate the Queen's desire that Essex halt his attempts to subdue part of the province of Ulster. After Essex's death in 1576 and the settlement of his affairs, Ashton concentrated on securing the adoption of the ordinances he had written for governing Shrewsbury School, which succeeded in August 1578. He died in Cambridge on 28 August 1578.