Things you didn't know about... Forest Gate

Forest Gate's rockin' role
Back in 1966, Jimi Hendrix wrote one of his most famous tunes—Purple Haze—in the Upper Cut Club in Forest Gate. And 1960s band the Small Faces were local boys—their most famous hit Itchycoo Park was said to be set in nearby Ilford.

Arnie probably won't be back to Forest Gate
Arnold Schwarzenegger may be famous for his many film roles, including Terminator (where his catchphrase "I'll be back" was born), and now as Governor of California. But before he became a household name, he used to live in Forest Gate where he pumped iron in a gym on the Romford Road.

Forest Gate's food and film connection
The northern end of the world-famous Green Street runs through Forest Gate. Originally a trackway running between East and West Ham manors, the road is known for its Asian shopping and food, home of football club West Ham and the location of the Queen's Market. It lent its name to a 2005 film about football hooligans starring Elijah "Frodo Baggins" Wood.

A big Gate for a big Forest
The forest referred to in Forest Gate's name is Epping Forest, which you might not know is the largest public open space in London—stretching for 19 km (12 mi) and almost 6,000 acres to the north-east of the city. Its southern tip is a huge open space just north of Forest Gate, known as Wanstead Flats. The gate in Forest Gate used to prevent cattle straying.

Can I have some carbolic acid with that?
A Forest Gate resident, Joseph Lister, was the first to make the connection between cleanliness in hospitals and death after operations. As such, he became known as "the inventor of antiseptic surgery". After operations, Lister insisted the wound be properly cleaned and then covered with a cloth soaked in carbolic acid.

The hills are alive with the sound of Forest Gate
Another famous Forest Gate resident was John Curwen who invented "Tonic sol-fa"—the technique for learning sight-singing made famous by The Sound of Music. Altogether now: "do, reh, me, fa, so, la, te, do"

Forest Gate's venture in European football
Forest Gate football club, Clapton FC, are recognised by the English Football Association as being the first English club to play in Europe in 1890.

Forest Gate sculpture has to hold on tight!
The sculpture on the front of the Forest Gate Methodist Church that sticks out at a jaunty angle is only able to stay there because it is counterbalanced by the church organ on the other side of the wall.