Inventory Site Record

Possibly so-called for being built on arches or for having arches on top of its steeple, St Mary-le-Bow was recorded here by the C11th. Destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the church was rebuilt by Wren between 1671-80, his designs based on the Temple of Peace in Rome. When the foundations were excavated they were thought to be those of a Roman temple but later deemed to be the crypt of the Norman church. After WWII the churchyard area was extended west and south and laid out as a garden around the statue of Captain John Smith, a member of the Cordwainers' Company, who founded the colony of Virginia. The churchyard was re-landscaped in 2008/09 and is now largely paved, with a mature plane tree and the statue of Smith remaining.

Previous / Other name:

Bow Churchyard

Site location:

Bow Churchyard, Cheapside

Postcode:

EC2V 6AU

What 3 Words:

clever.fades.scarf

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

City of London

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted. Church: Mon-Thu 6.30am-6pm; Fri 6.30am-4pm

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Concerts; exhibitions in church

Public transport:

Tube: Mansion House (District, Circle)

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/06/2010

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/openspaces

Possibly so-called for being built on arches or perhaps for having arches on top of its steeple, a church was recorded here by the C11th, with a churchyard by 1157/9. It was once thought to have been the site of a Roman temple when foundations for Wren's church were dug in the late C17th, although what were excavated were later deemed instead to be the crypt of the Norman church. However, Wren's excavations did reveal the remains of a Roman causeway. In 1091 the building's wooden roof was blown off in high winds and in 1271 the tower collapsed, both incidents killing a number of people. In the late C12th, a Robin Hood style rebel called William FitzOsbert also known as Long-beard took refuge in the church steeple, which was eventually set on fire to oust him and his followers, whereupon they were hanged at Smithfield (q.v.) In 1284 a Draper Lawrence Duber (Godwin has a Goldsmith called Ducket?) took refuge here having committed a murder but he was hanged in the church by his victim's friends, who hoped to make it appear as a suicide. When the truth was discovered the Church was interdicted and closed and its doors and windows barred by thorns; sixteen men were hanged and a woman burnt to death for the offence.

Destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the church was rebuilt by Wren between 1671-80, his designs based on the Temple of Peace in Rome. A small balcony over the doorway overlooking Cheapside may have been provided as a place to view the processions, tournaments and other entertainments which took place along Cheapside. Further restoration took place in 1878/9 but it was later gutted in the Blitz and rebuilt between 1956-64. The church is famous for its bells (Bow bells); in the 1670s £400 was raised from the sale of the site of All Hallows Honey Lane, a church destroyed in the Great Fire and whose parish amalgamated with that of St Mary, part of which was spent on the bells. The ringing of bells is thought to have originated as a curfew in Norman times, the ringing of St Mary's bells appears once to have been the signal for closing shops in the neighbourhood.

A plaque on the exterior of the church records that John Milton was born in the parish of All Hallows Bread Street in 1698, the parish amalgamated with that of St Mary-le-Bow after All Hallows church was pulled down in 1876; another parish amalgamated with St Mary's was that of St Augustine Watling Street in 1954.

After World War II the churchyard area was extended west and south and it was repaved and laid out as a garden around the statue of Captain John Smith, which was presented by the Jamestown Foundation of Commonwealth of Virginia in 1960, a replica made by Charles Rennick of the 1907 original in Jamestown by William Couper. Smith, a member of the Cordwainers' Company, set sail from Blackwall and eventually founded the colony of Virginia in 1606. His statue was located here due to its proximity to the old site of the Cordwainers' Hall and also due to the fact that sermons advocating the colonisation of the New World took place in St Mary's in the early C17th. Captain Smith (d.1631) was buried at St Sepulchre Churchyard (q.v.), a church associated with the Cordwainers' Company since 1631. Bow Churchyard was laid out as a garden by the Corporation of London in 1963, landscaping consisted of an area of grass surrounded by paving, triangular shrub beds at four corners, one tree and the statue of Smith. The lawn was later replaced by paving, with large tubs and planters, and numerous shrubs surrounding the tree and statue, together with a bronze sculpture of a Cordwainer by Alma Boyes, unveiled in 2002, provided through the Ward Club of Cordwainer in celebration of their centenary and part of the Corporation of London's Street Scene Challenge Initiative.

In 2008 plans were developed to re-landscape the churchyard, funded through the redevelopment of Bow Bells House, with improved seating and lighting. Designed by Burns + Nice landscape consultants and completed in 2009 the churchyard is now largely paved, with the mature plane tree and the statue of Smith remaining.

Sources consulted:

B. Cherry and N. Pevsner, 'The Buildings of England, London Vol. l: The Cities of London and Westminster', London, 1985; George Godwin & John Britton 'The Churches of London: A history and description of the Ecclesiastical Edifices of the Metropolis, Volume II', London, 1839; Simon Bradley & Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The Buildings of England, London 1: The City of London', 1997 (1999 ed.); Philip Norman, 'The London City Churches, Their Use, Their Preservation and Their Extended Use', The London Society, (1920s); history board on site; London Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches data

Grid ref:

TQ323811 (532348,181132)

Size in hectares:

0.1048

Site ownership:

Diocese of London

Site management:

City of London Corporation Open Spaces Dept.

Date(s):

1670-80; 1963; late C20th

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBI: St Mary-le-Bow Church. LBII: Statue of Captain John Smith

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Bow Lane

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Strategic View - Consultation Area

St Mary-le-Bow Churchyard, June 2010. Photo: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.