Hackney: Did You Know...?

Every week, we reveal some lesser-known facts about Hackney.

There are 1,300 listed buildings in Hackney, including the Grade I medieval St Augustine's Tower and Grade II Hackney Empire, both in Hackney Central.

London's first theatre was built in Shoreditch, circa. 1575.

Eastenders’ Albert Square is based on Fassett Square near Dalston Junction. The Victorian square gave producers Tony Holland and Julia Smith the inspiration for BBC1's first soap opera.

The word ‘hackneyed’ comes from the Hackney horses that were so widely available and common by the 18th century that the term became an adjective meaning stale, unoriginal or trite.

There are 150 different nationalities in the borough.

Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, Michael Caine (below), and playwright Harold Pinter were all educated in Hackney.