The month of May is St Neots Local History Month which is marked by a series of events, including a debate which begs the question: Who is St Neots' most famous son or daughter?

The debate, introduced into the agenda by the St Neots Local History Society, has put forward six worthy contenders to be considered for the title.

The public is invited to join the debate at St Neots Library on Thursday, May 15 at 7.30pm, to hear six speakers make the case for their 'client' to take the top title.

Those attending the debate are also invited to put forward their own suggestions.

St Neots Library is limited in space and so voting slips will be available in the library and St Neots Museum in New Street until the end of the month when the votes will be counted and the winner declared.

Chairman of St Neots Local History Society, Nell Marshall, said the society's intention is to erect a plaque in the town to commemorate the winner.

However, a series of plaques is the society's eventual aim, if the funds can be found.

>> Tickets for the hotly-contested debate are £2.50, including light refreshments and are available at the library. Call 0845 045 5225.

Here are the candidates:

THE historical six and the advocates who will argue their case are:
>> St Neot, 9th Century
Advocate: David Cozens.
St Neot lived in Saxon times, dying around the year 870.
It is believed he was originally a soldier, but entered a monastery, serving as a sacristan at Glastonbury Abbey before moving to Cornwall where he started a community of monks near Bodmin Moor.
He was alleged to have been responsible for various miracles.
After his death, his bones were venerated in Cornwall, but were subsequently seized by a raiding party from the Priory, established on the banks of the Ouse, to enhance its status.
The town of St Neots grew up around the medieval Priory.

>> John Bellingham, 1776 - 1812
Advocate: Bernard O'Connor.
John Bellingham was born in a house on the corner of Huntingdon and Cambridge streets in St Neots.
After a series of unfortunate personal events, he went to Russia in 1801 as an agent for a Liverpool firm.
Alas, his misfortunes continued, resulting in imprisonment in both Russia and England, for which he blamed the Government.
His petition to the Prince Regent in 1812 for redress was rejected. Feeling bitter he went to the lobby of the House of Commons on May 11, 1812 and shot the Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. Bellingham was sent to Newgate where he was tried and hanged within the week.

>> George Cornelius Gorham 1787 - 1857Advocate: Erin Wallace.
One of 12 children of a St Neots merchant and banker, George Gorham was born at 22 Market Square.
He was a Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge and by 1810 wrote a definitive History of St Neots.
A curate in Surrey and Berkshire and then at a ministry in Devon and Cornwall, his name is associated with the Gorham Case of the mid-19th Century, which was to do with the question of baptismal regeneration.

>> Julia Griffeths Croft 1811 - 1895
Advocate: Anna Mercer.
Born into a well-to-do family in London, Julia Griffeths moved to St Neots in 1877 with her husband, the Rev. Dr Henry Only Crofts, a Methodist minister.
She had already had a career as a campaigner against slavery, particularly in her support for Frederic Douglass, the famous escaped American slave. This had involved in her travelling to America to support him by writing for and editing his newspaper.
She ran a school for girls in St Neots at The Cross, the intersection at the top of the High Street.

>> Joseph Eayres, died 1772.
Advocate: David Rudd.
Joseph Eayres was born in Kettering and came to St Neots in 1735. He established a foundry and workshops in Priory Lane. He was also a clock and watchmaker and mechanic.
He lived in a house in Huntingdon Street and was a well- known philanthropist in the town.

>> James Toller, 1798 - 1818. Advocate: Peter Ibbett.
James Toller, the Eynesbury Giant, was born in a cottage near the Old Rectory in Eynesbury.
At 18 he was well over 8ft tall. In 1815, James was exhibited in London and was presented to the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia.
After a year of touring the country, he enlisted in the Life Guards and was noticed by the Duke of York.
His health not being good, he returned to Eynesbury to live with his mother. To avoid the public's gaze, the rector, the Rev Palmer, allowed him to walk in the rectory garden.
His body was buried within the church to avoid it being stolen by body snatchers.