Oranges and Lemons - when I grow rich say the bells of Shoreditch

Maurice Collins - shows his eccentric contraptions at V&A

Looking back in time - a turbulent history

Shoreditch Town Hall - now it's a show piece

Shoreditch Town Hall - design show comes home ...

Environmental Green Mark gives chance for ultimate savings

SmartWater to flush out those thieves ...

SECURITY TIPS 'top ten' from local police

Where Are These Famous Bells?

Research shows that these are the churches associated with the rhyme:

Bells of St Clements

St Clements, Eastcheap, is a small church, only 64 feet long and 40 feet wide, and stands huddled between two office blocks. There has been a church on the site since the 11th Century; the present one is the third to be standing on the site. The original church was demolished in the 15th Century, and the second was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1687.

The church stands in St Clements Lane, in fact, the name of the street comes from the church. It was previously known as Eastcheap. The rhyme begins with this church because when the Thames was wider than it is today, the wharf where the citrus fruit cargoes from the Mediterranean were delivered lay just across the street. It is said the church bells pealed when a cargo arrived.

Bells of St Martins

St Martin Orgar church, near Cannon Street, lost its congregation to St Clements church after the body of the church was destroyed in the Great Fire. In 1670 the parish was officially united with the parish of St Clements Eastcheap. The bell tower and part of the nave survived, and the church was rebuilt and used by French Protestants (Hugenots) until 1820, when all but the tower was pulled down. This was rebuilt in 1851 as a rectory for St Clements, and the old bell was rehung as a clock bell in a projecting clock. Now used as offices, it is in Martin Lane, a street that was once notorious for moneylenders.

Bells of Old Bailey

St Sepulchre-without-Newgate is the largest church in the city of London. Built around 1450, it was badly damaged in the Great Fire and was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1670-1. The historic tower holds the 12 bells of Old Bailey that were restored in 1985. They had been there since 1739, having replaced bells bought from the Priory Church of St Bartholomew in 1537.

Saint Sepulchre was not a person. The original Saxon church on this site was dedicated to the King of East Anglia - St Edmund the Martyr - and was called St Edmund-without-Newgate. At the time of the Crusades, the church became known as 'St Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre', and eventually became 'St Sepulchre' after the Holy Sepulchre of Christ in Jerusalem.

The church's tenor bell in the bell tower was rung on mornings when there was an execution in Newgate Prison (now the site of the more well-known Old Bailey - the Central Criminal Court). The church still has the 'Execution Bell' in a glass case. This is the hand bell that was rung for other services concerning condemned prisoners, including ringing it outside the condemned cell at midnight. Newgate Prison acquired its own bell in 1783, and the tenor bell was no longer used on execution mornings.

Bells of Shoreditch

St Leonard's church, on Kingsland Road, Shoreditch. Now part of the London Borough of Hackney, it was founded in the 12th Century. After collapsing during a service in 1716, the spire was rebuilt as a copy of St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside in the 1730s. The village whipping post and stocks are still in the churchyard.

Bells of Stepney

St Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney, was built in 952 AD by the Bishop of London St Dunstan, when the old wooden church that previously occupied the site was knocked down. At the time, it was dedicated to All Saints only, but St Dunstan was added in 1029 after he had been canonised. The present church dates from 1400, but the chancel dates from 200 years earlier, and the font is about 1000 years old.

The church has ten bells, the oldest of which was recast in 1385.

Great bell at Bow

St Mary-le-Bow, in Cheapside, is also known as Bow Church. There has been a church on the site since 1070. During the 14th Century a curfew was rung on the Bow Bells every night at 9pm; probably the origin of the tradition that anyone born within hearing distance of Bow Bells ringing is a true Cockney.

Rebuilt from 1670 to 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren after it was destroyed during the Great Fire, the name comes from the architecture. There are bow arches in the Norman Crypt, which are repeated in the arches of the steeple. Eight bells were cast for the finished church. Bells were added over the years until it had 12. Destroyed again in 1941 during the blitz of World War II, only the steeple, with its dragon weathercock and two outer walls, were left standing. Restored between 1952 and 1962, the 12 bells were recast and rehung.

The BBC used the peal of these bells at the start of each broadcast to occupied Europe during World War II.