Albert Square
Encyclopedia
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC
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 Fassett Square
in Hackney, 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 of the pub is the window twitching by any of the occupants throughout the years. They are often known to look out of the windows, giving a view of the whole Square. This is especially common in dramatic storylines.
Central to the Square are the gardens. The garden is home to Arthur Fowler
's bench, which was placed there in memory of him. The bench is also known as the Bench of Tears, as it is often the place where characters will go and cry.
The square is the centre for all of the everyday drama in all of Walford's residents' lives, most of the characters on EastEnders live on the square. Although a major place on the show, there are other places which are used in the show, like the market.
of the BBC's Elstree Studios
in Borehamwood
, Hertfordshire
, at 51°39′32"N 0°16′40"W.
The set is outdoors and open to the weather. The main buildings on the square consist of hollow shells, constructed from marine plywood facades mounted onto steel frames. The lower walls, pavements etc. are constructed of real brick and tarmac. The walls were intentionally built crooked in order to give them an aged appearance. The drains around the set are real in order for rain water to naturally flow from the streets. The square was built in two phases with only three sides being built plus Bridge Street to begin with in 1984, in time to be used for the show's first episode, which was aired on 19 February 1985. The fourth side of the square plus further expansion to the exterior set was completed in 1987. None of the buildings on Albert Square have any interior filming space, and most don't have rears or gardens. The grocery shop was originally open fronted, it was turned into a closed front shop, with removable interior walls to allow for filming inside the shop when the set was expanded in 1987. The cafe also has some interior decoration so some limited filming can take place by the door.
The set was expanded further to include George Street, more shops and the tube station in 1992 in order to create further locations when EastEnders went from two to three episodes per week in 1993. The newer exterior sets including Fish & Chip shop, video shop and beauty salon have some interior filming space to create a greater sense of realism. As the show is filmed up to six weeks in advance, the trees need to have extra leaves stuck on them during the spring to make them look like they would in summer.
In February 2008 it was reported that Albert Square would transfer to Pinewood Studios
in Buckinghamshire
, where a new set will be built as the current set is looking rather shabby, with its flaws showing up on High-definition television
broadcasts.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
of Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square
Fassett Square
Fassett Square is a small residential square in the London Borough of Hackney between Hackney Central and Dalston, just to the north of Graham Road....
in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real life history of Prince Albert and the then deprived East End. The public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
, was also given its name due to this. One of the key characteristics of the pub is the window twitching by any of the occupants throughout the years. They are often known to look out of the windows, giving a view of the whole Square. This is especially common in dramatic storylines.
Central to the Square are the gardens. The garden is home to Arthur Fowler
Arthur Fowler
Arthur George Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Bill Treacher.The father of the Fowler family, Arthur was essentially a good man, but he made some foolish choices and he always ended up paying dearly for them, also being bossed to the brink of insanity by...
's bench, which was placed there in memory of him. The bench is also known as the Bench of Tears, as it is often the place where characters will go and cry.
The square is the centre for all of the everyday drama in all of Walford's residents' lives, most of the characters on EastEnders live on the square. Although a major place on the show, there are other places which are used in the show, like the market.
Albert Square within the EastEnders set
In reality, the exterior set for the fictional Albert Square is located in the permanent backlotBacklot
A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....
of the BBC's Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in Borehamwood
Borehamwood
-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, at 51°39′32"N 0°16′40"W.
The set is outdoors and open to the weather. The main buildings on the square consist of hollow shells, constructed from marine plywood facades mounted onto steel frames. The lower walls, pavements etc. are constructed of real brick and tarmac. The walls were intentionally built crooked in order to give them an aged appearance. The drains around the set are real in order for rain water to naturally flow from the streets. The square was built in two phases with only three sides being built plus Bridge Street to begin with in 1984, in time to be used for the show's first episode, which was aired on 19 February 1985. The fourth side of the square plus further expansion to the exterior set was completed in 1987. None of the buildings on Albert Square have any interior filming space, and most don't have rears or gardens. The grocery shop was originally open fronted, it was turned into a closed front shop, with removable interior walls to allow for filming inside the shop when the set was expanded in 1987. The cafe also has some interior decoration so some limited filming can take place by the door.
The set was expanded further to include George Street, more shops and the tube station in 1992 in order to create further locations when EastEnders went from two to three episodes per week in 1993. The newer exterior sets including Fish & Chip shop, video shop and beauty salon have some interior filming space to create a greater sense of realism. As the show is filmed up to six weeks in advance, the trees need to have extra leaves stuck on them during the spring to make them look like they would in summer.
In February 2008 it was reported that Albert Square would transfer to Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, where a new set will be built as the current set is looking rather shabby, with its flaws showing up on High-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
broadcasts.
External links
- BBC - EastEnders
- BBC map of Albert Square
- Fassett Square - "The original inspiration for EastEnders".