Bow Church
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Bow Church is the parish church of St Mary and Holy Trinity, Stratford, Bow. It is located on a
central reservation A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ap ...
site in
Bow Road Bow Road is a thoroughfare in Bow, London, England. The road forms part of the A11 road (England), A11, running from Aldgate to Norwich in Norfolk. To the west the road becomes Mile End Road, and to the east is Bow Interchange on the A12 road ...
(part of the A11), in Bow, in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...
. There has been a church on the same site for approximately 700 years. The church was bombed in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and the bell tower was reconstructed just after the war.


History

The church (as a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
) was licensed by bishop Ralph Baldock of London on 17 November 1311 for the people of Stratford-at- Bow within the parish of
Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...
. Before this, local people were obliged to travel to
St Dunstan's, Stepney St Dunstan's, Stepney, is an Anglican church located in Stepney High Street, Stepney, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The church is believed to have been founded, or re-founded, in AD 952 by St Dunstan, the patron saint of bell ringers, ...
, to attend church. This was a difficult journey - especially in winter - when the road was cut off by flooding. In the 14th century, they felt confident and wealthy enough to petition for their own place of worship. The chapel of ease allowed them to practise their religion locally, but they were still obliged to attend St Dunstan's at Stepney on religious holidays and to pay for its upkeep. In 1497, following a dispute about the terms of this arrangement, an agreement was then reached, whereby the people of Bow promised to acknowledge themselves as parishioners of Stepney and agreed to pay 24
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...
s annually for repairs of the mother church, and to dispense with their attendance there, except on the feast of
Saint Dunstan Dunstan ( – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in En ...
, and on the Wednesday in
Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the H ...
week, when they were to accompany the rest of the parishioners in procession to Saint Paul's Cathedral. In 1556 at Bow, during the reign of
Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...
, and under the authority of
Edmund Bonner Edmund Bonner (also Boner; c. 15005 September 1569) was Bishop of London from 1539 to 1549 and again from 1553 to 1559. Initially an instrumental figure in the schism of Henry VIII from Rome, he was antagonised by the Protestant reforms introdu ...
, Bishop of London, many people were brought by cart from
Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...
and burned at the stake in front of Bow Church in one of the many swings of the
English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
. These included the thirteen Stratford Martyrs. In 1719, the parish became independent and St Mary, Stratford, Bow, was consecrated. The parish also included the Old Ford area which has also been known as North Bow. In 1767, the church became the resting place of colonel Philip Ludwell III, the earliest known convert to
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
in America. Although the church was Anglican, he was buried according to the funeral rites of the Orthodox Church. The last burial in the churchyard was in 1854, and it was re-ordered as a public garden by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1894, laid out by the MPGA's landscape gardener Fanny Wilkinson, who took advice from CR Ashbee of the
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...
as to which tombstones should be preserved. The eastern section of the churchyard was laid out as a garden by Wilkinson's successor Madeline Agar in 1911. More recent input by the MPGA has been the provision of 1,500 spring bulbs. The present building is thought to have a 14th-century structure, the tower was added in the 15th century. It is constructed of Kentish Ragstone with brick additions. Many of the windows are in the late perpendicular style. Inside the church, there are monuments including those to Grace Amcottes, died 1551; Alice Coborn, died 1689; and Prisca Coborn, died 1701. The south
aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
was replaced in 1794. In 1896, the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
roof collapsed, prompting a major restoration by the architect Osborn C Hills. The church suffered considerable bomb damage during the
London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
. The site was visited by Queen Elizabeth in 1951 to mark the start of a campaign to restore the church, the work was overseen by the architect H S Goodhart-Rendel. The Gothic-style iron railings around the churchyard were reinstated in 1984. The church was given Grade B listed building designation on 19 July 1950. and is now Grade II*. It gives its name to the nearby Bow Church DLR station. Just outside the churchyard is a statue by Albert Bruce Joy of the Liberal
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
,
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
, which was paid for by the wealthy
match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
manufacturer, Theodore H Bryant of
Bryant and May Bryant & May was a British match manufacturer, which today exists only as a brand name owned by Swedish Match. The company was formed in the mid-19th century as a dry goods trader, with its first match works, the Bryant & May Factory, located ...
in 1882. The church is also used as the central image in the crest for the Bow masonic lodge, founded by the Rev Francis Mettrick, the then Rector of the church, in 1961. The church is active today. During 2011, the church celebrated 700 years of Christian life on the site.


Rectors

Bow became an independent parish in 1719. From the mid-18th to the mid-19th century, the parish was a college living of
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...
, with all rectors from Parker to Driffield being from Brasenose College. * 1719–1740† Robert Warren * 1740 James Parker * 1740–1770† Thomas Foxley * 1771–1801† Allan Harrison Eccles * 1802–1807† Samuel Henshall * 1808–1809
Frodsham Hodson Frodsham Hodson (1770–1822) was an English churchman and academic, the Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, from 1809. Life He was the son of the Rev. George Hodson, and was born in Liverpool, England, on 7 June 1770. He entered Manchest ...
(later Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford) * 1809–1843† Hamlett Harrison * 1844–1880 George Townshend Driffield * 1880–1892 William Pimblett Insley * 1892–1898 Marmaduke Hare (later Dean of Trinity Cathedral,
Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...
, USA)
* 1899 Manley Power * 1932–1951† George Ansell * Francis Mettrick * 1989–2011† Michael Peet * 2012–2018 Debbie Frazer * 2019– Timothy G. May † ''Rector died in post''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bow Church Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in London Diocese of London Bow, London