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79-584: It takes its name from the street-level arched windows of the old crypt of St Mary-le-Bow ( Sancta Maria de Arcubus ) where the court still sits. The Court of Arches is the provincial Court of Appeal for Canterbury. It has both appellate and original jurisdiction . It is presided over by the Dean of the Arches, who is styled The Right Honourable and Right Worshipful the Official Principal and Dean of

158-477: A firestorm on Monday and sweeping west towards St Paul's Cathedral. St Mary-le-Bow was one of over fifty churches to catch fire during the firestorm, which was only extinguished on the Thursday. The church was nearly completely destroyed, except for the tower, which survived albeit with fire damage. Attempts were made to repair the tower, but they all ultimately failed: the tower was structurally compromised from

237-486: A " Frankenstein ". However, Cresswell took a managerial role in regulating the new flood of litigation. He showed great sensitivity in dealing with genuine grievances but upheld the sanctity of marriage and was capable of being severe when necessary. However, he was also instrumental in moving the legal view of divorce from that based on a sacrament to that based on contract. He worked with colossal speed and energy, deciding over one thousand cases in six years, only one of which

316-472: A "great bell" to be installed, with directions it should be rung to announce the curfew. With Copland's gift, the tower then contained five bells. In the 1552 survey of church goods ordered by Edward VI , the tower is recorded as containing five bells with two additional "sanctus" bells. These five bells would later be augmented, when in 1635, six are recorded. In 1666, during the Great Fire of London,

395-464: A Doric frieze . The second and third stages of the tower are more simple in construction, with two large square windows to the second stage, and a single round-headed window to the third. The fourth stage, housing the bell chamber, has a large round-headed opening in each wall, divided into three sections by thin mullions and filled with louvre boards. Framing the bell openings are pairs of Ionic order pilasters supporting an entablature, above which

474-677: A campaigner for women's rights, supported the bill by writing a political pamphlet and lobbying her contacts in Parliament. Palmerston eventually steered the bill through Parliament, despite Gladstone's attempted filibuster . The Act abolished Ecclesiastical jurisdiction regarding matrimonial matters, and for the first time made secular divorces possible (by court order). The Act created a new Court of Divorce and Matrimonial Causes and gave it jurisdiction to hear and decide civil actions for divorce. Further, it gave rights of audience both to common law barristers and civil law advocates, removing

553-571: A complex annulment process or a private bill , either at great cost. The latter entailed sometimes lengthy debates about a couple's intimate marital relationship in public in the House of Commons . A bill to create a civil court to regulate divorce and to allow it to proceed by ordinary civil litigation had been proposed by Lord Aberdeen 's coalition but had made no progress. The procedure had largely been designed by Lord Chief Justice Lord Campbell . When Lord Palmerston came to power in 1855,

632-458: A few years previously on bells for his Oxford Street store . The announcement that Gillett & Johnston intended to recast the tenor, which was believed to be cracked, caused so many objections that a meeting of the Province of Canterbury 's ecclesiastical court was called; the decision of the court was eventually that the tenor should be recast. Gillett & Johnston found upon removing

711-522: A greater length north to south than east to west; measuring 79 feet (24 m) from east to west but 131 feet (40 m) from the north wall of the tower to the south wall of the nave. The total area of the church building is 761 square metres (8,190 sq ft), which according to the Church of England , makes it a "large" sized church building. The exterior of St Mary-le-Bow is mostly constructed from red brick with dressings of Portland stone, with

790-549: A large room over the north aisle of the 11th-century crypt adjoining Bow Lane. The room was later rebuilt on an even larger scale, and eventually came to be used as the vestry. After the Great Fire it was held in Doctors' Commons and also at 1 The Sanctuary, Westminster and St Paul's Cathedral . Its permanent home remains St Mary le Bow, where regular sittings include those to confirm the election of each new diocesan bishop in

869-464: A pedalboard and was situated in the sanctuary at the eastern end of the church. This organ lasted unaltered until the Blitz, when following the first strike to hit the church, which only caused minor damage, it was removed for safekeeping by Rushworth and Draper . Following the restoration of the church from 1956, the organ was remodelled in 1964. The organ was reduced in size by almost half, only 18 of

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948-401: A practising barrister or judge as described above. The official principal of the Arches court is the only ecclesiastical judge who is empowered to pass a sentence of deprivation against a clerk in holy orders . The appeals from the decisions of the Arches court were formerly made to the king in chancery , but they are now by statute addressed to the king in council, and they are heard before

1027-407: A report first published by The Times . Over the ensuing six years, much work was done to the tower and the church to restore it, but the bells remained unringable, to much public outcry. Finally, in 1933, Harry Gordon Selfridge offered to defray the cost of restoring the bells, an offer which was accepted by the church, who gave the contract to Gillett & Johnston, who Selfridge had worked with

1106-511: A ring of ten, keeping the Hodson frame. The bells were rehung again in 1835 by Thomas Mears of Whitechapel and then a third time by Mears & Stainbank in 1863. In 1881, Mears & Stainbank cast two new bells to augment the ring to twelve, rehanging the 3rd and 4th bells concurrently. This gave London its 5th ring of twelve, following St Bride's, Fleet Street; St Michael Cornhill ; St Paul's Cathedral; and St Giles Cripplegate . In 1902,

1185-411: A solid foundation. Wren also discovered the 11th century undercroft below the ruins, but he was uninterested, believing it to be Roman. He only provided a trapdoor and ladder into the undercroft, which became the crypt for the church above it. In 1820, the upper part of the spire was rebuilt and repaired by architect George Gwilt . In 1850, the church finally ceased to be a 'peculiar', coming under

1264-435: A tall, square, tapering pinnacle, surmounted by a ball and weathervane , the latter taking the shape of a winged dragon. Only three bays make up the nave of the church, which is divided into small aisles by large round-headed arches. These arches are supported by compound piers with attached demi-columns that feature shorter pilasters for the openings and Corinthian capitals for the nave and aisles. The tunnel vault above

1343-462: Is a Church of England parish church in the City of London , England. Located on Cheapside , one of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080, by Lanfranc , Archbishop of Canterbury . Rebuilt several times over the ensuing centuries, the present church is the work of Sir Christopher Wren , following the Great Fire of London (1666). With its tall spire, it is still a landmark in

1422-598: Is now confined to the eastern parts of the Square Mile and Shoreditch . With no maternity hospitals within this range and only limited residential properties, arguably the modern chance of the birth of a 'true' cockney is now very low. Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 ( 20 & 21 Vict. c. 85) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . The Act reformed

1501-593: Is situated in the south nave aisle. The bells at St Mary-le-Bow are often considered to be the most famous peal in the world. According to legend, Richard (Dick) Whittington heard the bells in 1392 when he left the city, calling him back and leading him to become Lord Mayor . The earliest written record of bells at the church is in 1469, when the Common Council orders a curfew bell should be rung at St Mary-le-Bow at 9.00 each evening. In 1515, William Copland, one of Henry VIII 's merchants , gave money for

1580-420: Is the parapet . The parapet comprises an open balustrade between four corner pinnacles , formed of four ogee scrolls topped with small stone vases. The spire above the tower is also formed of four stages. The lowest stage is a circular drum-shaped structure surrounded by twelve columns which have carved acanthus capitals . These twelve columns support a cornice with modillion decoration. Above

1659-487: Is the third highest of any Wren church. The tower, constructed of Portland stone, is formed of four stages surmounted by an elaborate stone spire . The lowest stage has doorways in the north and west faces of the tower, set in substantial stone recess with added rustication . The recess has a round head and is flanked by Doric order columns, which support a moulded entablature above. The doorways inside these recesses are set between Tuscan order columns which support

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1738-551: Is three bays in length and features Norman-era round arches, some of which contain Roman bricks, and a groined vault. The crypt is now in use as the "Café Below". The earliest record of an organ at the church dates to 1802 when Hugh Russell of London built a small instrument formed of 13 stops and 2 manuals . This organ, like its successors, was situated on a gallery above the west doors. This organ lasted until 1867, when George Maydwell Holdich , also of London, rebuilt and enlarged

1817-606: The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council . By an act of Henry VIII (Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Act 1532) the Arches court is empowered to hear, in the first instance, such suits as are sent up to it by letters of request from the consistory court of the bishops of the province of Canterbury, and it is further empowered to accept letters of request from the bishops of the province of Canterbury after they have issued commissions of inquiry under that statute, and

1896-835: The Privy Council , except on matters of doctrine, ritual or ceremony, which go to the Court for Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved . There may also be a Deputy Dean. The court normally consists of the dean, two clerks appointed by the prolocutor of the lower house of the appropriate convocation and two lay people appointed by the Chairman of the House of Laity in consultation with the Lord Chancellor. Such appointees will have had judicial experience and be diocesan chancellors. Since 1991 there have been two diocesan chancellors appointed by

1975-528: The Archbishop of Canterbury set fire to the church. Osbert was fatally stabbed as he fled. The church was rebuilt again in the early 13th century following the 1196 fire, becoming a peculiar of the Archbishops of Canterbury and their London headquarters. It became home to the Court of Arches , to which the church gave its name. The Court of Arches, which still has its home at St Mary-le-Bow today,

2054-465: The Arches . The dean must be a barrister of ten years' High Court standing or the holder or former holder of high judicial office. The appointment is made by the two archbishops jointly. At various times the court has sat in the church of St Mary-le-Bow ( Sancta Maria de arcubus, formerly the archbishop's principal peculiar in London), whose arches give the court its name. The court used to sit in

2133-468: The City of London, being the third highest of any Wren church , surpassed only by nearby St Paul's Cathedral and St Bride's , Fleet Street . At a cost of over £15,000, it was also his second most expensive, again only surpassed by St Paul's Cathedral. St Mary-le-Bow is widely known for its bells, which also feature in the nursery rhyme ' Oranges and Lemons '. According to legend, Dick Whittington heard

2212-470: The abolition of any remaining important role for canon lawyers, it ultimately led to the demise of the Doctors' Commons . The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 also had impact in some of Britain's overseas possessions. In a series of decisions, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council held that the Act was part of the local law of the four western provinces of Canada, having been received by those provinces under

2291-407: The advocates' previous monopoly in divorce proceedings. The Act allowed legal separation by either husband or wife on grounds of adultery, cruelty, or desertion. However, were the petitioner an accessory to or condoned the adultery, a divorce could not be obtained. Section 57 of the Act also enabled the parties to remarry after divorce as though the marriage had been dissolved by the death of one of

2370-403: The air and forced into the ground with such force that only their tips remained visible. The lower church survived, but the upper church was damaged beyond repair. The church was rebuilt, possibly in facsimile , but was destroyed again just a hundred years later, in a fire in 1196. The fire was caused by fugitive William Fitz Osbert hiding in the church tower, and to coax him out, supporters of

2449-762: The archbishop, after consultation with the Standing Committee of the General Synod. There may be a deputy provincial registrar. The provincial registrar acts as legal advisor to the archbishop, the registrar of the provincial court and the joint registrar of the General Synod . The archives of the court have been held since 1953 at Lambeth Palace Library . They include items dating back to the early fourteenth century, but only survive with any consistency from 1660 onwards. St Mary-le-Bow The Church of St Mary-le-Bow ( / b oʊ / )

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2528-404: The bells and tower, along with the church, were damaged beyond repair. Following the Great Fire and Wren's rebuilding of the church, the tenor bell of a proposed ring of eight was cast by Christopher Hodson of St Mary Cray in 1669, placed in a temporary structure in the churchyard until the tower was completed. The bell weighed approximately 52 long cwt (2,600 kg). In 1677, Hodson cast

2607-635: The bells calling him back to the city in 1392, leading him to become Lord Mayor . Traditionally, anyone born within earshot of the bells was considered to be a true Londoner, or Cockney . The church suffered severe damage by the Luftwaffe in the Second World War as part of the Blitz , like many churches in London. The interior was reduced to a shell and though the tower survived, fire damage made

2686-555: The bells crash to the floor. The church was sympathetically restored to its pre-war condition by Laurence King from 1956 to 1964. The church was awarded Grade I listed status , the highest possible rating, on the National Heritage List for England , whilst still a shell in 1950. Though archaeological excavations suggest an earlier Saxon building may have stood on the site prior to the Norman Conquest ,

2765-504: The bells have been frequently rung, both by members of the Ancient Society of College Youths who reside in or near the city, and by visiting bands of ringers, who come from across the world to ring the bells. All the bells are named and each bell has an inscription from Psalms , the first letter of each forming the acrostic 'D. Whittington'. The largest bell weighs 41 long cwt 3 qrs 21 lb (4,697 lb or 2,131 kg),

2844-410: The bells needed rehanging again, with work taking place to the heaviest three bells by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon . This was evidently not successful, for the bells needed rehanging just 5 years later, the work given to Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel again. In January 1927, following the deterioration of the fittings and the condition of the tower, the bells were declared unringable in

2923-494: The bells to their works in Croydon that four more of the bells (6, 7, 8 and 10) were cracked, in addition to the tenor. All five cracked bells were recast in addition to the three lightest bells, leaving only the 4th, 5th, 9th and 11th from the previous ring to be retained; these four bells were retuned. The bells were rehung in their original frame with new cast iron headstocks, ball bearings and wrought iron clappers. The frame

3002-513: The bill was relaunched. The bill was introduced in the House of Lords and supported by Archbishop of Canterbury John Bird Sumner and the usually conservative Henry Phillpotts , Bishop of Exeter . The bill proved controversial, raising particular opposition from future Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone , who saw it as an usurpation of the authority of the Church, and from Bishop of Oxford Samuel Wilberforce . Caroline Norton ,

3081-493: The centre by arches. These lanterns were designed to light the streets below. Soon after midnight on Sunday, 2 September 1666, a fire started in Thomas Farriner 's bakery on Pudding Lane, 0.7 kilometres (0.43 mi) to the southeast of St. Mary-le-Bow. During the course of the night, the easterly wind spread the fire through the city , consuming 300 houses in the first night alone. The fire continued to grow, becoming

3160-400: The church and tower is a vestibule, featuring a tall groin-vaulted stone ceiling. The top of the vault is pierced by a removable circular trapdoor, opened to allow the bells to be lowered or raised from the tower. Beneath the church, built on almost the same floorplan, is the 11th-century crypt. The crypt, originally built as the undercroft for the church destroyed in the tornado in 1091,

3239-428: The church took several direct hits. A major fire started, destroying most of the building except the outer walls and the tower. The tower was not directly hit, but the fires from the church interior spread, burning out the tower floors and causing its bells to crash to the floor. The use of Portland stone in the tower, rather than the brick used in the body of the church, contributed to its survival. From 1956 to 1964,

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3318-403: The church was sympathetically rebuilt and restored by Laurence King to Wren's designs, at a cost of £63,000. The tower survived, mostly as Wren left it, but part of it required rebuilding due to fire damage weakening the walls. The church was reconsecrated in 1964, achieving Grade I listed status whilst still a ruin in 1950. The church building has a rectangular plan, with the tower situated on

3397-474: The commissioners have made their report. The Arches court was also the court of appeal from the consistory courts (of the bishops of the province) in all testamentary and matrimonial causes. The matrimonial jurisdiction was transferred to the secular courts by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 and testamentary jurisdiction by later statute. The Provincial Registrar of Canterbury is appointed by

3476-418: The condition of the tower, which required repairs, the bells were not hung until late 1961. The bells were dedicated in the presence of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Robert Stopford , Bishop of London , on 21 December 1961. The tenor was tolled by Prince Philip at the beginning of the service. The bells were hung in a new frame, made of Javanese Jang ( Dipterocarpus terminatus ). Since then,

3555-404: The cornice is a second open balustrade, similar in design to that on the top of the tower. The second stage is formed of twelve curved flying buttresses which support a circular-shaped moulded cornice. The third stage stands on the base of the cornice, and is square in plan, with granite columns on the corners. These columns support the fourth and final stage of the spire, which takes the form of

3634-594: The dean. All these are assistant provincial court judges. Original jurisdiction was formerly exercised by a separate provincial court, known as the Court of Audience. The jurisdictions called "peculiars" at one time numbered nearly three hundred in England. They were originally introduced by the Pope for the purpose of curtailing a bishop's authority within his diocese . The dean of the Arches originally had jurisdiction over

3713-419: The exception of the tower, which is built entirely from Portland stone. The three principal facades of the building (south, north and east) have gabled walls and pedimented centres, complete with triplets of round-headed windows. The most prominent aspect of the exterior is Wren's imposing tower, measuring 30 feet (9.1 m) square externally and with a height of 221 feet 9 inches (67.6 m), it

3792-456: The fact that William III granted the vestry of Trinity Church the same privileges as St Mary-le-Bow vestry. Beginning in 1940, the Luftwaffe began bombarding British cities from the air, a campaign known as the Blitz ; London was struck especially heavily. Throughout most of the campaign, St Mary-le-Bow suffered only minor damage. However, on the final night of the Blitz, 10–11 May 1941,

3871-461: The fire and was no longer strong enough to support the ringing of bells. Following Christopher Wren's appointment as the King's Surveyor of Works in 1669, Wren's office was contracted to rebuild the fifty one churches of the city consumed by the fire. The Rebuilding of London Act 1670 provided the funds for this, as it included raising the tax on coal. Other than St Paul's Cathedral, St Mary-le-Bow

3950-607: The first confirmed church dedicated to St Mary on Cheapside was built by Lanfranc , Archbishop of Canterbury , in 1080. Lanfranc, who was William the Conqueror 's archbishop brought over from Normandy , founded the church as part of the Norman policy of dominating London. Three major buildings were constructed as part of this policy; St Paul's Cathedral , the Tower of London , and a church on Cheapside. The church at Cheapside

4029-618: The increasing population, noise pollution and the soundproofing measures installed in the belfry, the range of the Bow bells is significantly smaller than at its peak. In 1851, the bells could be heard across north and east London, as far as Hackney Marshes , Stratford and Limehouse , with reports that they could also be heard south of the Thames in Southwark . An acoustic study taken in 2012 shows that this range has shrunk substantially, and

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4108-524: The jurisdiction of the Diocese of London , ending a practice started six hundred years earlier. The church continued, however, to be the home of the Court of Arches . Further alterations took place in the late 19th century, with the removal of galleries in 1867 and additional modifications from 1878-1879. In 1914, a stone from the crypt of the church was placed in Trinity Church , New York, to mark

4187-488: The law on divorce , moving litigation from the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts to the civil courts, establishing a model of marriage based on contract rather than sacrament and widening the availability of divorce beyond those who could afford to bring proceedings for annulment or to promote a private Bill. It was one of the Matrimonial Causes Acts 1857 to 1878 . Before the Act, divorce

4266-485: The nave is covered in ornamental panelling that is painted blue and white and is penetrated by the clerestory windows. The church windows are among the structure's most prominent elements following its 1964 restoration. They, along with the other furniture, vestments, etc., were created by John Hayward . All three of the east windows have rounded arches, although the central window is taller and wider than its neighbours, who have small round windows above them. Linking

4345-605: The night of 10 May 1941, the church was struck by several incendiary bombs. Though the tower was spared a direct hit, the flames from the body of the church were fanned into the tower, which acted like a furnace, destroying all of the internal floors and the frame, causing the bells to crash over 100 feet (30 m) to the ground, irrevocably damaging them. The damaged bells were removed shortly after their destruction to Mears & Stainbank's foundry in Whitechapel, but they remained in storage for more than 10 years. In 1956, as

4424-409: The northwest corner, separated from the main body of the church by a vestibule . The design of the church is such that the chancel occupies the eastern end of the nave, both with north and south aisles, which are noted to be extremely narrow. A vestry adjoins the vestibule to the north of the north aisle. Unusually, due to the addition of the vestibule separating the tower and nave, the building has

4503-541: The old organ was removed, though the 1964 case, based on work by the Alsace Silbermann family , was kept. The organ was completed in August 2010 and the first recital was given by Thomas Trotter on 29 September. The new organ, which reuses the old case, has 34 stops and two manuals plus pedalboard. The church also has a small chamber organ, formed of 1 manual and with 5 stops, made by an unknown builder. It

4582-493: The organ. He added a third manual, a pedalboard and 11 additional stops to make a total of 24. In 1880, the organ was purchased by Walker & Sons at a cost of £255 and transferred to the Methodist Church at Thornton, Leicestershire . Walker & Sons constructed a new instrument for St Mary-le-Bow in the same year, at a cost of £1,108. This new instrument was much larger, formed of 33 stops and 3 manuals plus

4661-459: The original 33 stops were reinstated and a new case designed and installed above the west door. This organ was considered by many to be a rather poor imitation of its pre-war condition but funds did not permit its replacement for 40 years. In 2004, a project to replace the organ was launched by the church, with Kenneth Ticknell & Co chosen as builders. The project, which cost £380,000, was funded by corporate and personal donors. In January 2010,

4740-418: The paternity of possible heirs). Thus a husband could petition for divorce on the sole grounds that his wife had committed adultery, whereas a wife could only hope for a divorce based on adultery combined with other offences such as incest, cruelty, bigamy, desertion, etc. (or based on cruelty alone). The Act also required that a suit by a husband for adultery name the adulterer as a co-respondent, whereas this

4819-561: The province. The Provincial Registry is at 16 Beaumont Street , Oxford. The proper jurisdiction of the court is over only the 13 peculiar parishes belonging to the archbishop in London . But, as the office of Dean of the Arches is united with that of Principal Official, the dean receives and determines appeals from the sentences of all lesser ecclesiastical courts within the province. Many original suits are also heard, where lesser courts waive jurisdiction by letters of request. Appeal lies with

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4898-432: The remaining seven and hung all eight bells in the newly completed tower in a new oak frame. No further work would take place to the bells until 1738 when the tenor bell was recast by Richard Phelps and Thomas Lester; Phelps had previously cast the hour bell at St Paul's Cathedral, called Great Tom, which still survives today. In 1762, Lester & Pack recast and rehung the other seven bells and added two more, to make

4977-494: The restoration of the church began, attention turned to the restoration of the tower and the recasting of the bells. Much of the cost of restoring the tower and bells was met by the Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation and Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York City. A new ring of twelve was cast by Mears & Stainbank in 1956, partially reusing metal salvaged from the 1933 ring. However, due to

5056-550: The same year with a much taller tower and more intricate spire. The body of the church, inspired by the Basilica of Maxentius in Rome, was completed by 1673. The tower, however, would take a further seven years to finish, being finally completed in 1680. The total cost of the rebuilding was £15,421 (equivalent to more than £2.3 million in 2021), the second most expensive of any of Wren's churches, only surpassed by St Paul's. The tower

5135-478: The spouses. It also altered the handling of adultery in English law : it abolished the crime of criminal conversation , but maintained the principle that "since a wife's adultery caused injury to the husband, it entitled him to claim compensation from the adulterer", implying that the wife was the property of the husband – not least because wives could not claim compensation from adulterous husbands. Compensation

5214-416: The third heaviest tenor bell in London after St Paul's and Southwark Cathedral . Number (cwt-qrs-lbs) (kg/lbs) (inches) The bells, often considered amongst the most famous in the world, have typically been used to define whether or not one is a true Londoner or Cockney ; anyone born within their earshot is considered such. With the urbanisation of the City of London in the 20th and 21st centuries,

5293-561: The thirteen London parishes mentioned above, but as the official principal was often absent as ambassador on the continent, the dean became his substitute, and gradually the two offices were blended together. The judge of the Arches court was until 1874 appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury for the life of the holder. But by the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 the two archbishops were empowered to appoint

5372-411: The tower's principal use was the housing of the city's curfew bell , rung at 9 pm every evening and being able to be heard as far away as Hackney Marshes . Work to repair the tower was slow, with construction noted to take place in 1448, 1459 and 1479. The tower was finally completed in 1512, supporting a spectacular series of stone lanterns ; four around the corners of the tower and one suspended in

5451-411: Was a bachelor with a reputation for impatience and a short temper. However, he succeeded superbly in establishing the authority, dignity and efficiency of the new regime. In the first year of operation of the Act, there were three hundred divorce petitions, as against three in the previous year and there were fears of chaos. Campbell sat in some of the earliest hearings but was afraid that he had created

5530-407: Was considered the most important church in the city, and thus, according to a document dated to 13 June 1670, at the head of the list to be rebuilt. The mason's contract for the rebuilding of St Mary-le-Bow was signed just under two months later, on 2 August. Wren's initial designs were for a simple three bay structure and short tower, the latter topped by a simple cupola . This was revised in

5609-534: Was constructed first and featured round stone arches, which were a novelty at the time. This led to the church being known as Sancta Maria de Arcubus (St Mary of the Arches), a name which eventually became St Mary-le-Bow, bow being an old name for arches. The church was nearing completion in 1091 when it was destroyed by a violent tornado , amongst the most powerful ever to strike England. Roof rafters measuring 27–28 feet (8.2–8.5 m) long were thrown up in

5688-457: Was dedicated to St Mary and was constructed from Caen stone from Normandy, the same stone used in the Tower of London. The architect for the Tower of London was Gundulf , Bishop of Rochester , who may have also designed the first St Mary-le-Bow. This early church was built on two levels, with a lower undercroft partially below street level and the upper church, built above it. The lower church

5767-431: Was governed by the ecclesiastical Court of Arches and the canon law of the Church of England . As such, it was not administered by the barristers who practised in the common law courts but by the " advocates " and " proctors " who practised civil law from Doctors' Commons , adding to the obscurity of the proceedings. Divorce allowing remarriage was de facto restricted to the very wealthy, as it demanded either

5846-425: Was no longer, however, paid to the cuckold, but to the court, and damages were not to be punitive or exemplary but purely to compensate a husband's loss of consortium (marital services) of his wife and damages to his reputation, honour, and family life. The Act did not treat women's and men's grounds for divorce equally (largely on the grounds that women's adultery was more serious because it introduced doubt as to

5925-405: Was not required in a suit by a wife. The Act came into force on 1 January 1858. Such a court would require sensitive but firm supervision and Palmerston appointed Sir Cresswell Cresswell as its first judge-in-ordinary with bipartisan support. Cresswell was not an obvious appointment. A mercantile lawyer who had been somewhat diffident as a junior judge in the Court of Common Pleas , Cresswell

6004-532: Was rebuilt in Portland stone , the rest of the church in brick. The tower became such a landmark that it was known as the "Cheapside pillar". During the rebuilding, Wren moved the position of the tower to sit directly on Cheapside, whereas the Norman and Tudor towers had sat back from the road. Whilst building the foundations for the tower, Wren came across an old Roman causeway 18 feet (5.5 m) below ground level and 4 feet (1.2 m) deep, which provided

6083-468: Was reversed on appeal. He achieved some public fame and huge respect, popularly being held as representing the five million married women of Britain. The Act was also an important enabling step in unifying and rationalising the legal system of England and Wales , a process that was largely effected by the Judicature Acts (1873–1875). It also catalysed the unification of the legal profession. By

6162-471: Was substantially strengthened with a massive concrete and steel grillage weighing 3.5 long tonnes (3,556 kg). The bells were rededicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 7 July 1933. Shortly after their installation, the BBC World Service recorded the bells for use as a time signal , which brought the attention of the bells to a global audience; the recording survives today. On

6241-473: Was the ecclesiastical court of appeal for the Province of Canterbury , founded in 1251. This allegiance to Canterbury made it the second most important church in London, after St Paul's Cathedral. The tower partially collapsed in its south west corner in 1271, killing at least one civilian in Cheapside below, Laurence Ducket. The tower was not immediately repaired and was kept in use. From 1363 onwards,

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