Albert Square

Albert Square is the fictional location of the British soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life 'Fasset Square' in the East End, and was given the name Albert Square after the real life history of Prince Albert and the then deprived East End. The public house, the Queen Victoria was also given its name due to this. One of the key characteristics is the window twitching by any of the occupants of the pub throughout the years, they are often known to look out of the windows giving a view across the whole Square, this is especially common in dramatic storylines.

Related Topics:
British - Soap opera - EastEnders - London borough - Walford - London - East End - Prince Albert

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Central to the Square is the gardens, as the show at times is filmed up to six weeks in advance, the trees need to have extra leaves stuck on to appear fuller in summer when they're filmed in spring. The garden is home to Arthur's bench, which was placed there in memory of him. The bench has often coined the name 'Bench of tears', as it is often the place where characters will go and cry.

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There are a number of streets around Albert Square, these include: Bridge Street, Victoria Road, Victoria Square, George Street, Turpin Way and Turpin Road.

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Bridge Street is the main street in to Albert Square, it is home to the market which includes the Fowlers fruit and veg stall. Businessman Ian Beale once planned to remove the market in favour of a shopping centre, much to the dislike of the residents and his family. In 2004, the residents celebrated 100 years of the market.

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Bridge Street also includes many the majority of the businesses, there is a mini-supermarket named 'Minute Mart' which is currently owned by Patrick and Yolande Trueman. There is also the laundrette which is owned by Mr Papadopoulos, though he is rarely seen, Pauline Fowler and Dot Branning have worked here for many years. The laundrette is often seen as a mystery for viewers who wonder why nobody owns a washing machine, however Gary Hobbs & Minty Peterson, Ian Beale and the Miller's houses have recently been seen with washing machines.

Related Topics:
Patrick - Yolande Trueman - Pauline Fowler - Dot Branning

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Also in Bridge Street is the Bridge Street Cafe, which is currently owned by Ian Beale. It is understood to be given the name Bridge Street because of the rail bridge, the sounds of trains going past are often over-emphasised.

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Victoria Square is home to a number of bedsits that are considered to be low-class, these are usually used when characters find themselves homeless.

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The houses in George Street would seem to be a step up from the houses in Albert Square. There is also the Argee Bhajee, an Indian restaurant which the residents often eat out at.

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Turpin Way has 'Beale's Wheels', a local garage owned by Ian Beale. It is best known as 'The Arches' which was bought by the Mitchell brothers when they first arrived in the Square. There is also a community centre and nearby is the playground.

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In Turpin Road there is the post office, the bookies, Beale's Plaice - the local chip shop, owned by Ian Beale. The Turpin Road war memorial is also here, it pays tribute to residents of Walford who perished in the First and Second World Wars. However, in real life the memorial features names of people involved with EastEnders along with past stars.

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There is also a nightclub, it was originally named 'the Market Cellar' until George Palmer bought the club and renamed it the 'Cobra Club'. When Palmer moved, he sold it to Steve Owen who renamed it 'the e20', this is the club's most famous title. It was then sold to Sharon Watts who named it 'Angie's Den'. In 2005 the club extended it's space when Johnny Allen bought the next door Snooker Club. It is currently named 'Scarlet'.

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Walford has a fictional London postal district, London E20, and a fictional tube station, Walford East, which is located on the EastEnders tube map in the position normally occupied by the real Bromley-by-Bow tube station.

Related Topics:
London postal district - Tube station - Tube map - Bromley-by-Bow tube station

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It is actually filmed at Borehamwood to the north-west of London.

Related Topics:
Borehamwood - London

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