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  1. #1
    Mutley
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    Default Cockney Ancestors

    Were your Londoners born within the sound of Bow Bells?

    What area would be covered by the Bow Bell/s?

    "I do not know" said the great bell of Bow.........

  2. #2
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    St. Mary le Bow is smack in the middle of the City. Being a cockney would originally have meant being a city dweller, ie probably born in The City.

    These days I doubt you would be able to hear the Bow Bells much beyond Cheapside - far too many tall buildings around them.

    Geoff

  3. #3
    Knowledgeable and helpful Karen Newman's Avatar
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    from Wikipedia:

    ... the traditional definition is that in order to be a Cockney, one must have been born within earshot of the Bow Bells. However, the church of St Mary-le-Bow was destroyed in 1666 by the Great Fire of London and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. After the bells were destroyed again in 1941 in The Blitz of World War II, and before they were replaced in 1961, there was a period when by this definition no 'Bow-bell' Cockneys could be born. The use of such a literal definition produces other problems, since traffic noise and the current lack of a hospital with a maternity ward in earshot of the church would also severely limit the number of 'true' Cockneys that could be born.

    A study was carried by the city in 2000 to see how far the Bow Bells could be heard, and it was estimated that the bells would have been heard six miles to the east, five miles to the north, three miles to the south, and four miles to the west.

  4. #4
    Mutley
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    Thank you,
    That is exactly what I wanted to know.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mutley View Post
    Thank you,
    That is exactly what I wanted to know.
    So Mutt are you a Cockney?

  6. #6
    Mutley
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    Well.......

    I've just tried to work it out on an old map with a ruler and I would say very roughly that your London ancestors could be Cockneys if born

    Almost to Tottenham in the North
    West Ham in the East
    Camberwell in the South
    Marylebone in the West

    I hope someone corrects me if I am wrong.

    Neil,
    The answer is most definitely YES as regards area, spitting distance but NO to timing because they were not ringing when I was born. So I still "'aint nun the wiser, me ole mate!!!"

  7. #7
    AnnB
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    Hello Mutley

    I'm going to put a bit of a damper on the works, as, although it 'as long been said a true Cockney was born within the sound of the Bow Bells, I was always brung up to believe that only those born in the East End could claim the title. I can't say I've ever come across someone souff of the River, who would claim to be a Cockney, but anyone born in Befnal Green, Stepney, West 'Am, etc., etc. - now that's a different matter

    There's an interesting little article on the BBC web site at https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/..._feature.shtml which seems to say the same thing.

    Best wishes
    Ann

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