Saint Mary-Le-Bow Church and Bells

St Mary-le-Bow is a historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside. According to tradition, a true Cockney must be born within earshot of the sound of the church's bells. The bells are also credited with having persuaded Dick Whittington to turn back from Highgate and remain in London to become Lord Mayor (three times in the story but four times in reality).The church is also immortalised in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons. Traditionally, distances by road from London have been measured from the London Stone, or the "Standard" in Cornhill, but, on the road from London to Lewes, the mileage is taken from the church door of St Mary-le-Bow. To emphasize the difference, mileposts along the way are marked with a cast-iron depiction of a bow and four bells.

History

Archaeological evidence indicates that a church existed on this site in Saxon period England. A medieval version of the church had been destroyed in 1091 by one of the earliest recorded (and one of the most violent) tornadoes in Britain, the London Tornado of 1091. During the Norman period, a church known as “St Mary de Arcubus” was built and was famed for its two arches (“bows”) of stone. From at least the 13th century, the church belonged to the Diocese of Canterbury and the seat of the Court of Arches, to which it gave the name. The church with its steeple had been a landmark of London and the “Bow bells”, which could be heard as far away as Hackney Marshes, were once used to signal a curfew in the City of London. This building burned in the Great Fire of London of 1666.

The current building was built to the designs of Christopher Wren, 1671-1673, with the 223-foot steeple completed 1680.

In 1914, a stone from the crypt of Bow Church was placed in Trinity Church, New York, in commemoration of the fact that King William III granted the vestry of Trinity Church the same privileges as St Mary-le-Bow. A recording of the Bow Bells made in 1926 has been used by the BBC World Service as an interval signal for the English language broadcasts since the early 1940s. It is still used today preceding some English broadcasts.

Much of the current building was destroyed by a German bomb during the London Blitz on May, 10th 1941. Restoration was begun in 1956 and the bells rang again only in 1961 to produce a new generation of Cockneys. The church was formally reconsecrated in 1964 and was designated a Grade I listed building on the 4^th of January 1950.

In the churchyard is a statue of Captain John Smith, founder of Virginia and former parishioner of this church. St Mary-le-Bow ministers to the financial industry and livery companies of the City of London. There is a memorial in the church to the first Governor in Australia, Arthur Phillip, who was born nearby. Through this connection the Rector of St Mary le Bow is the Chaplain of the Britain-Australia Society.

Angel F, Raquel L & Cristina R 1st bat C