St Mary-le-Bow Church

St Mary-le-Bow Church, off Cheapside, is an historic church in the City of London. The present incarnation of St Mary-le-Bow was designed by imminent architect, Christopher Wren and built between 1671-1673. Its steeple was only completed in 1680, after the Great Fire of London burnt the previous church on the site down. The previous St Mary-le-Bow Church building had been standing on that site since before the Norman invasion, and was already called by that name. An even earlier copy of the church was destroyed in 1091, in what is believed to be the earliest recorded as well as the most ferocious tornadoes to have ever hit London.

The bells of the St Mary-le-Bow Church was used in the olden times to signal a curfew in the City of London. In those times, it could be heard as far away as Hackney Marshes. According to tradition, a person born within earshot of the sound of St Mary-le-Bow's bells can consider himself a true cockney. St Mary-le-Bow Church also appeared in a children's nursery rhyme, Oranges and Lemons. A recording of the Bow Bells was made in 1926. It has been used by BBC World Service as an interval signal for its English Language broadcasts since the 1940s, and is still used today.

St Mary-le-Bow Church was destroyed by German bombing on 10 May 1941 causing the bells to crash to the ground. Restoration work took place from 1956, and in 1961, the bells were rung once again. The silence of the bells between 1956 and 1961 resulted in a challenge in considering a person a true cockney, by the literal definition, as the Cockney area is defined by earshot of the bells. Furthermore, the increased din of London makes it all the more difficult to hear the bells. In a study conducted in 2000, it was determined that the Bow Bells could be heard six miles to the east, five miles to the north, three miles to the south and four miles to the west. Moreover, there is no hospital with a maternity ward within earshot of the Bells, limiting the number of "true" Cockneys that could be born. The Cockney dialet has since migrated outside its original realm.

St Mary Le Bow Church
Author: Steve Cadman (cc-by-sa-2.0)

Interior of St Mary Le Bow Church
Author: Steve Cadman (cc-by-3.0-unported)

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