Matthew Wren was a prominent cleric who eventually became Bishop of Ely in 1638. He studied at both Cambridge and Oxford, and before becoming Bishop of Ely, he had previously been Chaplain to the then Prince Charles (later Charles 1st), Prebendary of Winchester, Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, Vice-Chancellor, Dean of Windsor, Registrar of the order of the Garter, Clerk of the Closet, Governor of Charterhouse, London, Bishop of Hereford, Prebendary of Westminster, Bishop of Norwich and Dean of the Chapel Royal, London.
During his tenure at Ely, he was imprisoned in the Tower (1642-1660) when his mentor Laud was impeached.
He comes into the history of Foxton because on his first episcopal visit to the Church in 1638, he complained about its poor state of repair, and in 1666, after he had returned from his imprisonment, he was still far from happy about the situation.