  thumb|the spire, st mary-le-bow st mary-le-bow  is a historic church in the city of londonmentioned in pepys's diary, "samuel pepys - the shorter pepys" latham, r. (ed) p484: harmondsworth, 1985 isbn 0-14-009418-0 on the main east-west thoroughfare, cheapside. according to tradition a true cockney must be born within earshot of the sound of bow bells (which refers to this church's bells rather than st mary and holy trinity, bow road, in bow, which until the 19th century was an outlying village).leigh's map of the environs of london 1819 the city as was is shown in the map; it shows bow, the village between mile end and stratford, in a historical form stratford le bow. ==bells== the sound of the bells of st mary's is credited with having persuaded dick whittington to turn back from highgate and remain in london to become lord mayor.the bells that made cockneys howse, christopher, daily telegraph 2007-09-22, accessed 2007-10-30 traditionally, distances by road from london are now measured from charing cross but before the late 18th century were, for instance, measured from the london stone in cannon street, or the "standard" in cornhill. on the road from london to lewes the mileage is taken from the church door of st mary-le-bow. to emphasize the reference used, mileposts along the way are marked with a cast-iron depiction of a bow and four bells. the churc
Christopher_Wren_churches_in_London Church_of_England_churches_in_London Churches_in_the_City_of_London English_Baroque_architecture Grade_I_listed_churches_in_London Rebuilt_church_buildings_in_the_United_Kingdom Religious_buildings_completed_in_1680