St Mary-le-Bow

Before the final stop of the tour, we come across the church of St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside. St Mary-le-Bow is a special site with its meaningful influence in the culture and society of London. Like the others, this church was also affected by the Great Fire and the Blitz with much of it rebuilt over recent years. Le-Bow is a rather small church with little defining features on its exterior. The church's spire is the only piece of the site that stands out from the modern buildings it is now sandwiched by from almost all sides. The spire is unique in that it holds a unique set of bells the church is known and even named for. "Bow" bells as they are known, are the enormous and heavy bells that produce loud sounds of ringing that can be heard across all of London. The bells are so loud that they became part of a local tradition. According to the tale, in order to be a true "Cockney" or Londoner one must be born within range of the sound from St Mary-le-Bow's bells. In fact the sound of the bells was so popular that it was even mentioned in a classic nursery rhyme from the 1700s known as "Oranges and Lemons". A piece of the rhyme went as "When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney.I do not know, Says the great bell of Bow."

Aside from tradition, the bells also served as another greater purpose in the early 20^th century. Before and even throughout the war, the BBC's World Service used recordings of the bells in their broadcast to Europe as an interval signal. Even to this day the BBC still uses this old recording when broadcasting. During the course of the Blitz, much of the historical value of the church was lost to the bombing. The original ring of bells from 1762 were destroyed and later replaced by a new installation of bells in 1956. Almost the entire structure had to be repaired back to its original state. St Mary-le-Bow and its bells brought plenty of hope to a war torn London. Even after its destruction, its bells could be heard for all to hear.

This destination is the fifth stop on the London Blitz Cathedral Tour.