St Mary-le-Bow

St Mary-le-Bow stands in the heart of the City of London on Cheapside, one of the capital’s oldest streets. The present church is the work of Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666. Its tall spire is the third highest among Wren’s churches, after St Paul’s and St Bride’s. The tower was rebuilt in Portland stone and now serves as a landmark above the busy thoroughfare. Beneath the pavement lies an 11th-century undercroft, rediscovered during Wren’s work. The church has been rebuilt and repaired many times since its first Norman foundations in 1080. The church is famous for its bells, which inspired the nursery rhyme ‘Oranges and Lemons’. According to legend, Dick Whittington heard the bells call him back to London in 1392. Traditionally, anyone born within earshot of the bells is called a Cockney. The bells crashed to the ground during the Blitz, but the church was restored to its pre-war condition between 1956 and 1964. It holds Grade I listed status, the highest recognition for historic buildings. The Court of Arches, the ecclesiastical court of appeal for the Province of Canterbury, has been based here since the 13th century. Inside, the church combines Wren’s classical style with medieval remains. The tower’s stone lanterns once lit the streets below at night. The crypt, reached by a trapdoor, preserves part of the earlier undercroft. The interior was gutted in the Second World War but rebuilt to match its former appearance. The church remains a working parish church in the City of London. Its spire and bells continue to mark the skyline and sound across the old streets.