Three cyclists from the church where Malmesbury philosopher Thomas Hobbes is buried will be arriving at the town hall on Saturday in a sponsored cycle ride to raise funds for his grave’s upkeep.

The cyclists, their support vehicle and two other cars are making the 150 mile sponsored trip to raise money to restore the parish church of St John the Baptist in Ault Hucknall in Derbyshire where Hobbes is buried.

The roof needs repairing after lead was stolen from its roof.

Chairman of the Thomas Hobbes Society Ian Henderson will be one of the people welcoming the travellers between 2.30pm and 4.30pm on Saturday.

He said: “Thomas Hobbes’ grave is very important to us.

“The church where he is buried is a charming building and it is important it’s kept in good condition.”

The connection between Malmesbury, where Hobbes was born in 1588 and the Derbyshire village where he was buried in 1679 was highlighted after Mr Henderson and other members of the Thomas Hobbes Society visited the church for a lecture on Hobbes’ life.

Mr Henderson said: “Our presence there engendered some interest.

“We arranged for some of them to make a visit to Malmesbury and they will be arriving on Saturday.

“It should take them about three days, they are leaving on Wednesday.”

Mr Henderson is hoping as many people as possible turn out to welcome the cyclists on Saturday and add to the rider’s collection boxes.

Hobbes is famous for writing the philosophical work Leviathan but is little known outside the world of Philosophy, Malmesbury and Ault Hucknall.