If you are a soap fan this square should look very familiar. Yes, that is right – it looks exactly like Albert Square, home to Britain's long-running TV soap-opera, EastEnders. But you probably won't find the Mitchell brothers or Dot Cotton here. That is because it is, in fact, Fassett Square and it has a Dalston E8 postcode rather than Walford's fictional E20.
The reason it looks just the same is because it's the very square that the TV set was modelled on, back when the show was first created in the 1980s.
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The creators of the serial wanted to base their show around a typical London East End terrace that faced a well-kept garden square to invoke the sense of community. And it was Fassett Square that passed the audition. Each Victorian terraced house on the programme carefully replicates the exteriors of this little corner of Hackney.
The show also stole a few other landmarks. The bustling Queen Vic is based on the former Queen Elizabeth pub around the corner, and the make-believe market was inspired by nearby Ridley Road Market.
The Dalston garden square itself looks a little different, as this one is private, to be enjoyed by residents only. Each has their own key to the wrought iron gates and takes part responsibility for its maintenance.
Built in 1865 in blocks of four, the Victorian terraced houses still have an attic bedroom (Bobby Beale had an attic bedroom seen in 2015) and cellar (remember when Lucas Johnson kept Denise Fox prisoner in the basement in 2010?). And some have now been split into flats, just like the soap's 43 Albert Square – what a co-incidence.
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The familiar-looking property has four bedrooms, a double length reception room, dining room, separate kitchen, lean-to conservatory, and large family bathroom. You'll find high ceilings and period features throughout.
There are currently no internal photographs, which is not usually a good sign, and the estate agent is advertising the house as 'requiring refurbishment throughout'. But classic London terraces like this are extremely spacious and have plenty of potential. It looks like next door have done a good job.
So, if you are a huge 'Enders' fan, why not put in an offer of a lifetime on this quaint like-for-like house in desirable Fassett Square. However, we can't guarantee theatrical Eastenders storyline life, and you may need a soap-star salary to afford it. It's currently on the market at £1.1 million with Purple Bricks
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