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February 15, 2004
And now for something completely different ...
I came across a copy of a version of the old nursery rhyme "Oranges and lemons" as I was clearing out some of my rubbish in preparation for some serious packing up. It is one of those poems one learns and seldom considers the message conveyed in it.
Firstly it tells a little about each community served by a particular church, secondly it is a geographic record of the churches as some no longer exist. I have managed to visit most of those that do still function, and one or two that fell victim to the bombs and fires and have not been rebuilt. Geographically they start in the West (St Clement Danes in the Strand) and go East in a circuit of the City Churches and then outward ending at St Peter's, Bromley le Bow in the east End. This actually takes you out of the City to both West and East as The Strand is outside the City boundary to the West and Aldgate is the Eastern Boundary. Everything East of that is in Tower Hamlets, but some of the bells named after Aldgate are in the City.
The final couplet is thought to refer to the beheading of Anne Boleyn.
The full poem as I have it is:
Gay go up and gay go down to ring the bells of London Town.
Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement's,
Bull's eyes and targets, say the bells of St Marg'ret's.
Brickbats and tiles, say the bell's of St Giles.
Pancakes and fritters, say the bells of St Peter's.
Two sticks and an apple, say the bells at Whitechapel.
Old Father Baldpate, say the slow bells at Aldgate.
Maids in white aprons, say the bells at St Catherine's.
Pokers and tongs, say the bells of St John's.
Kettles and pans, say the bells at 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 at Bow.
So there you have it. For the record, St Gile's is in an area known as "Old Jewry" also called "Cripplegate", but can be found now in the Barbican centre. Whitechapel and Aldgate were the sites of two famous bell foundry companies and one is still in operation, although their casting is now done elsewhere. St Peter's was in the Bakers quarter near the Fenchurch Street Station. St Martin's is in the Banking District off Cornhill and Shoreditch was the centre of much of the shipping activity, while St John's and St Anne's were in areas associated with iron and brass foundry work.
The Church at Aldgate is a post 1666 building and is dedicated to St Botolph, which probably accounts for why it isn't named - not a lot to rhyme with! St Margaret's and St Catherines I have not managed to find, nor can I claim to have identified the Stepney Church as there are two that claim the honour.
Oh, and the opening line is a reference to the "ringing" method on the bells. They are mounted on a swinging frame which allows the bell to be inverted and "set". This brings the "change rope" "up". A sharp tug, starts the bell "down" and this first drops the rope, then draws it up again as the bell completes a full cycle and the ringer has to control the bell to bring it to a standstill "set" for the next cycle.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little bit of nonsense, and I wish you all a good week ahead.
Posted by The Gray Monk at February 15, 2004 11:53 PM