ONE of Malmesbury's most famous sons, political philosopher John Hobbes, is to be commemorated with a bench at the Market Cross.

Hobbes is famed for his work Leviathan, printed in 1651, and the bench is being erected to celebrate the 400th anniversary of his departure from Malmesbury, where he was born, to study at Oxford University, aged just 14, in 1602.

Pending planning permission, the the Thomas Hobbes Society will place the double bench between the Rajah Indian restaurant and the Whole Hog pub.

Thomas Hobbes Society co-chair Ian Henderson said he felt it was about time a high profile memorial was erected to remember the life of one of Britain's greatest thinkers.

"There is a small plaque on his house on St Mary's Lane and a rowan tree, the Hobbes family symbol, was planted at St Mary's Hall. There is also a bust in the town hall made in the 1970s, but we wanted something high profile for the people of the area," he said.

In addition to the bench it is planned to have a plaque that details the philosopher's life.

Hobbes lived in Westport and his father was the parish vicar. His uncle, a tradesman and alderman of the town, educated him.

Widely published, his most famous and influential work Leviathan (1651) set out a model for understanding the nature, justification and purpose of government.

Hobbes constantly identified himself with Malmesbury, an indication of his love for the town, said Mr Henderson.

Mr Henderson added that he hoped the bench would be installed before the summer.

"It would be nice to have the bench ready by then; people will be able to sit in the sun and think on what he had to say," he said.