which part of london is the bow bells?

[jomalomo]

which part of london is the bow bells?? my nan was evacuated in the war from london, but she lived by the bow bells??

[Bryan.]

Hi

St Mary-le-Bow church, Cheapside, London

Bryan

[ggrocott]

It is said that anyone living within sound of the Bells of St Mary le Bow is a cockney.

[Berlin-Bob]

It is said that anyone living within sound of the Bells of St Mary le Bow is a cockney.

Geography of Cockney English:
London, the capital of England, is situated on the River Thames, approximately 50 miles north of the English Channel, in the south east section of the country. It is generally agreed, that to be a true Cockney, a person has to be born within hearing distance of the bells of St. Mary le Bow, Cheapside, in the City of London. This traditional working-class accent of the region is also associated with other suburbs in the eastern section of the city such as the East End, Stepney, Hackney, Shoreditch Poplar and Bow.

in http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/CockneyEnglish.html (an american site)

This is a very elastic concept !

I found a website once (forgotten which one) which went on at some length about wind direction and atmospheric conditions, pointing out that you could hear Bow Bells from some places on some days, but not on others.

Bob

ps: just found a reference to the study:

A study was done by the city in 2000 to see how far the Bow Bells could be heard, and it was estimated that the bells would have been heard 6 miles to the east, 5 miles to the north, 3 miles to the south, and 4 miles to the west.

Thus, while all East Enders are Cockney, not all Cockneys are East Enders. The traditional core neighborhoods of the East End are Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Stepney, Hackney, Mile End. It gradually expanded with the postal areas added for urban renewal.

in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockney

[Biker]

Hello

In addition to the above, especially during the 1900s lots of cockneys 'interpreted' Bow Bells as being those of Bow Church which is in Bow, East London and far from Bow Bells proper in Cheapside.  I think the confusion (and appropriation) has probably happened because Bow Church is actually right in the heart of Cockney East London.

I know my parents, both East End folk, referred to Bow Bells as the ones at Bow Church, so it might be worth checking both locations out ... 

Regards
Jonathan

[jomalomo]

can anyone that lives in london tell me...

if you live in islington can u hear the bow bells.
if not can u in shoreditch???

thanks jo

[MaryA]

Well I've just phoned my mum who was born in Islington and most definitely could hear the Bow Bells, and she says yes also Shoreditch.

Mary

[jomalomo]

oh brilliant, thankyou ever so much!!

[willow2670]

Does the Bow Bells still work then?