Things you didn't know about... Hackney

Hackney took the first hit in World War I
The first bomb of World War I to fall on London landed in the garden of The Nevill Arms on Nevill Road, Hackney, on 30 May 1915. It was dropped from a German Zeppelin.

Actors—dying to be in Hackney
St Leonard's (or Shoreditch Church) was once known as the actors' church; those buried there include Richard Burbage, a contemporary of Shakespeare. The church is also referred to in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons: "When I am rich, say the bells of Shoreditch".

Pop goes the Weasel—he probably got the hiccups in Hackney
Another nursery rhyme, Pop Goes the Weasel, makes reference to going "in and out the Eagle"—a large tavern on City Road that use to be attached to a music hall.

Hackney's days of Empire
The Hackney Empire, which opened in 1901 and is still going, has in its time hosted such legends as Harry Champion, Larry Adler, Marie Lloyd, Stan Laurel and George Formby. Among the greats who made their debut here are Charlie Chaplin, Maria Callas—and Liberace.

Hackney gave us a "20th-Century Boy"
Famous Hackney residents include Marc Bolan, the lead singer of the 1970s band T Rex, who was brought up in Stoke Newington, Hackney.

Hackney's literary connections
Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, also lived in Stoke Newington, while horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe went to the Manor House School, which once stood on Stoke Newington Church Street.

Hackney shoots, Hackney scores
Hackney has more green space than any other inner London borough, with nearly one-third of its area given over to parks and open spaces. Among these is Hackney Marshes. Along with nature trails and walks along the towpath of the Lea Canal, Hackney Marshes contain Europe's largest single area of football pitches—over 80 in all.

Hackney breeds talent
Oscar-winning actor Jessica Tandy was born in Clapton, Hackney, while cartoonist Mel Calman—"Mel" of the Daily Express, Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times—was born in Stamford Hill.

The master of chills set out in Hackney
In 1926, Alfred Hitchcock—from nearby Leytonstone—made his first thriller, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, for Michael Balcon's new Gainsborough studios in Hoxton, Hackney.

The truth about the Hackney cab—honest, guv
The Hackney carriage and later the Hackney cab are thought to date back to the early 17th century and named after the family who first made the four-wheeled, two-horse, six-passenger coach designed for working the narrow London streets.