Comments on: The Oranges & Lemons Churches

By: Mrs. helen glasscoe

Mrs. helen glasscoe — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 22:34:16 +0000

Surely the St Clements Church in the rhyme must be St Clements [with St Martin] Orgar as St Clements Danes is not in the old square mile.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 05 Aug 2017 06:44:21 +0000

Have just tuaght my six year old son the words and meaning to this song. These pictures are a great illustration and we intend to hunt them out ourselves.

By: Jean

Jean — Thu, 15 May 2014 09:18:40 +0000

Following up on a previous comment querying whether the church, St. Clement’s, situated in the Strand (now known as St. Clement Danes Church) was in fact the one referred to in the nursery rhyme and not the church of the same name in Eastcheap. Having worked with the Charity that continues today, one established hundreds of years ago by the Elders of the church in the Strand, the books and records that I have seen would indicate that St. Clement’s in the Strand is more likely to be the one in the rhyme. The church owned land around it stretching from the river towards Covent Garden market. Boats carrying citrus fruits would have been unloaded at the wharfs nearby and in order for the fruits to be transported to the market, the porters would have had to traverse the Church’s grounds. It is probable that a small ‘toll payment’ would be exacted for this facility – logical to assume this payment would be in the form of the fruits carried – oranges and lemons – which would be given afterwards to the poor and needy, particularly the children, that the Charity helped. A tradition still carried out annually today after a service attended by the children of a local school that was started by the Charity.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:20:48 +0000

A wonderful idea – wish I’d thought of that 🙂

By: bernard

bernard — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:01:58 +0000

Fantastic, thank you.

By: Susan Goldman

Susan Goldman — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 09:22:58 +0000

Another wonderful post. How nice to see all of the churches from the rhyme photographed like this. I really enjoyed it, thank you.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 07:34:11 +0000

Are St Clement Danes in the Strand wrong to claim they are the subject of the first line of this rhyme?

Their bells even peel the famous tune and they hand out citrus fruit at some of their ceremonies.

Still I’m certain you know something more than I on the matter. Thanks again for a wonderful post on what for me is becoming essential daily reading.

By: gary

gary — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:20:59 +0000

great idea

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:07:56 +0000

The Bow bells certainly ring, loud and clear!

By: Alison Sye

Alison Sye — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:13:24 +0000

That was a brilliant post. I always thought St. Martin’s was St Martins in the Fields, whenever I heard the bells ring, I would think that sounds nothing like ‘You Owe Me Five Farthings’, now I know why.