Tallest Building in London #5

The right church this time! St Mary Le Bow in Cheapside. How could I have confused them? My only excuse is that they are white stone churches with large towers each having an impressive clock hanging out over the pavement (although you can't see the one over Cheapside from this angle).

This was the second tallest church that Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt after the Great Fire, but it was finished much earlier than St Paul's Cathedral, so it was the tallest building in London from when it was completed in 1683 until it was topped by St Paul's in 1710.

The first St Mary Le Bow was built by William the Conqueror's Archbishop of Canterbury in 1080, although that church was badly damaged by a tornado (!) in 1091. The church was important because it had the City's main curfew bell that rung at 9pm each day. The sound of Bow bell defines the area where Cockneys are born.

There is a very poignant photo taken from the Golden Gallery of St Paul's showing the bomb devastation immediately to its east in 1941, including the empty shell of St Mary Le Bow. The church has been rebuilt and has some wonderful modern stained glass. I will go back one sunny morning to see the coloured light streaming into the church :-)