In article , Mike Hughes
writes
In article , Peter
Beale writes
In article , redondaXXXX@
btopenworld.com (Redonda) wrote:

Bow Church is from the church near Bow flyover on the A11

Presumably the one which features in "Oranges and Lemons":

"'I do not know', said the great bell of Bow."

The original Bow Church is the one in Cheapside. The Oranges & Lemons
song all relates to churches in the City of London.

Which is correctly called "Saint Mary le Bow". Built by Wren (of
course) on top of what turned out to be a Roman Road. Look out for the
balcony sometime, which recalls an incident in the Middle Ages when
Edward III arranged a great procession to celebrate the birth of his new
son. A wooden balcony was constructed in Cheapside so that his wife
and baby could watch the procession. However, with the Queen in place
on it, it collapsed! Edward was quite ready to put the carpenters to
death (!) but his wife successfully pleaded for them to be spared.

Three centuries later, Wren remembered this tale and added the balcony
on the front for effect.

Sorry to drift off but whenever talking about this church I prefer to
find something different to the Hackneyed (no pun intended!) "True
Cockneys" story.......

Mike
(currently doing the knowledge of London)
Good luck!
--
Ian Jelf, MITG, Birmingham, UK
Registered "Blue Badge" Tourist Guide for
London & the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk