"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey

One of the aspects of England that make it so quintesessentially English, are it's "gleaming spires" rising up above the modern glass fronted sky scrapers and concrete monoliths. In most areas, you can't go very far before seeing a church tower or sprire rising above the treetops, and I for one love it.

{Ps. It's 'Oranges and Lemons' day today in London!}

The Old Bailey is the local name for the Central London Criminal court (located in Bailey Street, along the lines of the City's fortified wall or Bailey from which it takes it's nickname), and is sited opposite Newgate prison, housing both criminals and debtors. It doesn't have it's own bell, but the rhyme referes to the bells of St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate church and the bell of Newgate prison.

A rather grisly tolling, the bell of St. Sepulchre marked the time (death knell) of imminent executions until Newgate prison acquired its own bell.

A church has stood on this site since 1137. The church was destroyed by the Great Fire of London and rebuilt by Wren in 1671. The medieval courthouse of London was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and was replaced by London's Central Criminal Court which was used during 1673 -1834.

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's. 

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's. 

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's. 

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's. 

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel. 

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate. 

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Katharine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'. 

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's. 

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey. 

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch. 

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney. 

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow. 

Here comes a candle to light you to bed, 

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead. 

 

The original medieval court was first mentioned in 1585; it was next to the older Newgate Prison, and seems to have grown out of the endowment to improve Newgate prison and rooms for the Sheriffs, made possible by a gift from Sir Richard Whittington (the real-life inspiration for the tale of Dick Whittington) according to Wikipedia.

 



How good is the zoom on my Camera? - and this was taken handheld.

The phrase "When will you pay me?" refers to the Debtors housed in Newgate Prison and those tried at the Old Bailey. Nowadays you don't have to commit a crime to see the inside of this London institution (unlike the visits of the Kray Twins, Dr Crippen, Jeremy Thorpe and the Yorkshire Ripper) but can visit the public gallery and watch trials Monday-Friday 9am-1pm, 2pm-5pm. Much better than Judge Judy.

 

Fact: Oranges and Lemons Day takes place every year in London, usually on the third Thursday of March, even when Easter intervenes, at the Church of St Clement Danes.

Children who go to the nearby St Clement Danes Church of England Primary School attend a service, after which the church's bells are rung and the children are given each an orange and a lemon. Since 1919, the bells of the church have also played the melody to the song (listed below) 4 times a day: 9 am, noon, 3 pm and 6 pm.

Where are you based, and are you celebrating Oranges & Lemons Day?

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"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney. Oranges and Lemons

Located on Stepney High Street, a church has stood on the site prior to 925AD. This is the third incarnation, and was erected in 1580. Located within the Oranges and Lemons remit, there are ten bells in the belfry, some dating back to 1385 and some of which were made in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

Of the Churches visited, it seems they are the most visibly proud of their architectural, & Oranges and Lemons heritage:

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Katharine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

 

 

As per their information board, Stepney has strong links with London's dockyards and the ancient ports, and it is thought that the phrase "When will that be?" could refer to the wives waiting for their husbands, brothers and sons to return from voyages - in the 16th and 17th Century many sailors were employed on Voyages of Discovery to the New Worlds. A two year wait for their kin (and their wages) wasn't unusual.

 

 

Just remember when visiting - no taking your horse (because everyone in Central London has a horse?) and no practising your golf swing on the grounds. You know who you are.

 

For further info, opening hours etc. check out their website or Twitter.
For great old photos: http://www.stdunstanstepney.com/photos-historic.html

Could you wait for someone for two years without Skype, Facebook, Twitter or phone communication?

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"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

We're now three quarters of the throught the series (or to be more accurate nine fourteenths) and I kinda don't want to finish. It's just been so nice getting to know the East End much better, that I don't want it to end. You know, the way that you eat a meal so delicious that you don't want to finish it because then it'll be gone (here's looking at you Turkish Eggs))?

Tucked near a very Parisian section of London...




St Anne and St Agnes was built by Christopher Wren in 1680 after the Great Fire of London, and is rather unusual because of it's brick facade. A trio of famous Johns are honoured/worshipped here; Milton, Wesley and Bunyan. The church was due to be demolished after the War and it was only the vergeress of the church who saved it from being lost forever.

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Katharine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

 

Rather ironically mentioning food (mostly because I'm hungry as I type), St Anne's rhyme rings to the words "Kettles and Pans", refering to the utensils sold by the coppersmiths who worked nearby.

 

For further info, check out the website here and their services include Swahili and Latvian.

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"Maids in white aprons" say the bells of St Katharines: Oranges and Lemons

A rather unusual Church, St Katharine Cree sits in the shadow of the iconic St Mary Axe and a stone's throw from the Leadenhall Market. A serious, shoe-horned exterior hides a very pretty interior.

 

 

The building dates from before the Great Fire, and is "known as the Guild Church to Finance, Commerce and Industry, the present building dates from 1630, although the tower dates from 1504 and was part of the previous church on the site, which itself originally formed part of the mediaeval Priory of the Holy Trinity (1108)."

 

 

The bells have been rung continuously since the 16th Century, and have (mostly) survived the Great Fire of London, the WWII bombing blitz, and the 1992 Baltic Exchange bomb on 1992. They mean to stay ringing for the next 500 years.

 "Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Katharine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

 

"Maids in white aprons" refers to the costume of the women of the early 1600's who sold the wares in the nearby markets which included meat, game, poultry and fish.

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"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate: Oranges and Lemons

To me, the juxtapositions of London buldings are (mostly) great - the traditional brick facade of Churches, hand in hand with modern design marvels (but usually outshining the 1960's horrendous office buildings). This is most prevalent in the war-scarred East End of London where new developments were forced to replace bomb damage, and also from the population growth.

In this line of the rhyme there seem to be two schools of thought to which Bells are referred to - one the Aldgate Bell Foundry that can be traced back to 1420, or the Church, St Botolph's without Aldgate.

As I couldn't find anything about the foundry (it possibly has links with the Whitechapel foundry (to follow)) we decided to focus on St Botolph's which dates from around 1741. Sadly (this wasn't going very well!) it wasn't open the day we went, so I've scheduled a trip back to see the interior - which by all accounts is beautiful.

Interesting facts:

• Daniel Defoe was married in St. Botolph’s.
• During World War II a bomb hit the roof of the church, but it got stuck there and did not explode.
• The Church also has Jack the Ripper links - in Victorian times it was known at the "Church of Prostitutes as there was a prohibition of standing on street corners, so they stood on the island where the Church stands. It was close to here that the Ripper took his third victim. 

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Catherine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

  

The rhyme's reference to "Old Father Bald Pate" refers to the balding St BotolphA Saxon Abbot is the patron Saint of travellers and Itinerants. His relics were brought to London through various towns and eventually through the four City gates of Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Aldgate and Billingsgate. The churches at the entrances to these gates were named after him. The first three remain, but the one at Billingsgate was destroyed in the Great Fire (1666) and never rebuilt. It seems that as his relics were conveyed from place to place, his name became associated with wayfarers and travellers.

The Church website can be found here. 

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"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's: Oranges and Lemons

I found this Church unintentionally and purely by chance. Found in the White Tower of the Tower of London, this has probably the goriest and saddest history of all the Churches in the rhyme, because of it's associations with Royalty, Torture and notably the two sons of Edward IV, known as the Princes of the Tower, a mysterious disappearance in relation to King Richard III's rule.

 

Rather ironically, I've had this post planned for a little while, but last night we have had the breaking news of the discovery of King Richards III's remains found in a carpark, possibly debunkig commonly held beliefs (and leading to an incredibly funny hashtag on Twitter #kinginacarpark - check it out & add me @londonkiwiemma whilst you're there).

 

The precise date of the White Tower's foundation is unknown, and it is also uncertain how long building took. It is traditionally held that construction began in 1078. It housed the accommodation of the King and his close retinue whilst being the strongest military keep of the Palace complex in case of attack.

 

Architecturally St John's chapel is almost unique in Castle building because of the semi-circular projection, and very few original internal decorations remain reminiscent of how it would have been in Norman times.

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Catherine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

 

The Pokers and Tongs in the rhyme almost certainly refer to the grisly acts of Torture committed in the Tower or London, usually in the name of the current King or Queen. It's not somewhere I would like to be locked in overnight, let me tell you.

 

Halfway now to the full cachet of Churches...

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"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow: Oranges and Lemons

To be a real, knees-up Cockney London Geezer, you have to be born within the sound of Bow Bells. Surprisingly, when the tradition was decided, the small (soon to be be encapsulated in the sprawling mess of London) village of Bow was not the site of Bow Bells, but a Church in London's Cheapside, called St Mary-le-Bow.

In the 14th Century, the St Mary-le-Bow Bells rang out at 9am to warn the locals of their imminent bed-time. Surprising facts: They were silenced for two years in 1856 by an eccentric local woman who believed that the noise of their clanging might otherwise kill her, and used at the Start of BBC broadcasts in WWII. (Research Credit)

Considered the second most important church in the City of London after St Paul's Cathedral, St-Mary-le-Bow was one of the first churches to be rebuilt by Christopher Wren and his office for this reason. The current building was built to the designs of Wren 1671—1673

 "Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's. 

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel. 

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate. 

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Catherine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's. 

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's. 

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey. 

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch. 

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney. 

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow. 

Here comes a candle to light you to bed, 

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

The Bell Tower Roof/Entrance foyer

The Bells themselves have been destroyed a couple of times - in the Great Fire of London and by Hitler during the Blitz of 1941. A new peal of 12 bells was installed in 1956, each inscribed with a verse from a psalm, and the initial letters of those 12 psalms spell out the name 'D WHITTINGTON'.

Does that name sound familiar? It has to do with a cat... stay tuned tomorrow.

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"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's

It's funny, I've lived in London now for more than half a Decade, and I still delight in touristy wandering, discovering new corners and the historical backstory. I know

"...when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." - Samuel Johnson

 
but I do sometimes wonder if the delight will ever really wear off as it's such a thriving city, and there is always a new corner to turn and a new secret to discover.

 

Sadly, when we arrived to see this Church, it was originally shrouded in scaffolding, keeping it's quietly to itself, getting a facelift.

"The church of St Martin Orgar formerly stood here, its name arising from a Deacon called Ordgarus who owned the church, which he presented prior to c.1181 to the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. It had a churchyard by c.1250. The building was damaged but not entirely destroyed in the Great Fire and part of the tower and nave were subsequently repaired and converted as a meeting place and chapel for French Huguenot Protestants. By c.1820 this had become ruinous and all but the tower was demolished, which acted as the entrance to the burial ground for the parish of St Clement and now occupied the site of the old church. The former churchyard remains as a raised garden in private use." Credit

Situated really closely to the great Monument to the Great Fire of London, St Martin's is another of London's secrets, the ones that surprise you walking around corners.

 




Postscript: Having done much better research than me, Rhymes.co.uk explains;"You owe me five farthings" relates to the moneylenders who traded nearby.

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Catherine's

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

A farthing was worth one quarter of a penny, ¹⁄₉₆₀ of a pound sterling, and continued to be used until 31 December 1960, when they ceased to be legal tender. In Victorian times a beggar would normally hope to be given between a farthing and two pence in alms; and a Farthing in todays money would be around 8 pence according to the Old Bailey Online.

According to my local sources, a Farthing wasn't worth a great deal, around the time of the Second World War two Farthings, (totalling a Ha'penny) would buy you a few boiled sweets, or a carrot which school kids would scrape the skin off on the walls on their walk to school to then eat.

We are so lucky in this day and age.

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London Living: "Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's

After taking great interest in the wrong Church, we found St Peter-at-Cornhill which to our dismay isn't open to the public.

However, rising above the surrounding buildings, it is very pretty.

Even though it's not regularily open to the public, it's great to see that it's still in daily use. There is nothing sadder than an empty disused Church, rotting away to nothing.

"Wren often only added details around the top of his churches – hence such a variation of spires and towers.

St Peter was given a small copper dome with a small “spirelet” surmounting it. The rest of the church is very much box-like from the outside. The interiors have been heavily Victorianised with dark pews and panelling and stained glass added to all the windows. Some attempts have been made in recent years to “lighten” the church – as Wren’s designs almost never contained stained glass – but it still remains quite a dark and dingy church compared to many of its contemporaries." Credit

St Peters is situated near the Leadenhall Market (please excuse the blown out photo) dating back to the 14th Century, standing on the centre of Roman London. It's beautiful, has some great pubs & was used in the filming of Harry Potter.

 

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Catherine's

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

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Adventures of the Benign

This week has been lovely, random but full of Christmas Cheer. I hope you have a lovely Friday!

Balance:

Are you enjoying the Festive season?

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London Living: "Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'

St Giles-without-Cripplegate is tucked away on a fairly ugly Estate, amongst some awful Brutalist buildings. Now I know that the Brutalism style was partially a reaction to the World Wars, and a need for something different, something that symbolised the strength and modernity of a new Europe, with cheaper building materials, but still, Urgh.

 

St Giles makes for a nice relief.

 

 

"When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to St Giles, patron saint of beggars and cripples. It is one of the few medieval churches left in the City of London, having survived the Great Fire of 1666."

 



 

It's got quite an interesting history and is the resting place of John Milton (amongst others!)

 

 

 

 

I just had to take a photo of the tiles...

 

  

Nearby are some incredibly modern buildings...

  

And a slice of the Roman City Wall. You can't get away from history in the centre of London!

 

 

Postscript: Having done much better research than me, Rhymes.co.uk explains;
The "Brickbats and Tiles" refers to the bricks and tiles used by nearby builders. The reference to bricks is interesting as bricks were introduced to London by Judge Popham, who resided over the trial of Guy Fawkes immortalised in the Nursery Rhyme Remember, Remember the 5th November

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Catherine's

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

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