A nine-minute tube journey from central London, Stratford is its own self-sufficient town, bursting with excitement and hugely popular since the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Fashionable Westfield is just outside the neighbourhood area, and together with its more retro sibling, the Stratford Centre, the locale draws shoppers from all over east London. The East Village takes advantage of the Olympic legacy by using the athlete’s accommodation – it boasts close to 3,000 contemporary apartments. By contrast, the cherry-tree lined Chobham Road offers rows of cosy Victorian terraces and a good deal of council-built homes are also dotted around the area.

The local school in the area is Chobham Academy, rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, but the locale’s major draw is probably its abundance of leisure and entertainment options – whether it’s a stroll through the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a classic film at the Roof East Bar outdoor cinema, or the Story Centre for kids. Whichever it may be, boredom is not a state of mind familiar to Stratford’s residents.

A year after the Normans invaded Britain in 1066, Straetforda – meaning ford on a Roman road – first appeared on historical records. It was where the ancient transport link from London to Colchester crossed the River Lea. In the early 12th century, Stratford had one of the largest monasteries in the country – Langthorne Abbey. However, this came to an end when King Henry VIII dissolved the monastic system, breaking with the Catholic Church in the early 16th century. Stratford’s industrial prominence in the 19th century was a product of its optimal location between the capital and the east coast, leading to the vast web of transport connections whose legacy is visible today. Maryland, meanwhile, was the retail and leisure playground for the capitalists of the 1800s. However, the 20th century was not kind to the area. After a period of gradual economic decline and rising unemployment, the announcement of the 2012 Olympic Games acted as the light at the end of the tunnel.

The “renaissance man” of 1960s British and Hollywood cinema, Brian Forbes, actor, director, and novelist was born in Stratford in July 1926. Described by the Guardian as “one of the most creative forces in the British film industry in the 1960s”, Forbes approached his cinematography from a deeply emotional perspective. Usually, he took on tense dramatic themes that would “[send] you forth with a lump in your throat, as well as a set of muscles weary from being tense for nigh two hours.” Best known at the time for blockbusters such as the 1964 Scéance on a Wet Afternoon, contemporary film fanatics will be acquainted with works like Chaplin (1992), directed by Richard Attenborough.

Thrill-seekers and high-rollers will enjoy the fact that Stratford is home to the UK’s largest casino, Asper’s Casino located in the Westfield Centre. On the other side of town, Maryland is unique for being named after the Maryland Point, on the Potomac River in the US – one of the few occurrences of a UK place-name taking inspiration from across the pond, and not the other way around.

Ongoing development is an inevitable by-product of the area’s prominence and popularity. Planning permissions for large-scale projects are frequently obtained and for some settled residents this may constitute unnecessary disturbance or even force them to move.

With the Elizabeth Line opening earlier this year, fast trains now run through both Stratford and Maryland, with the latter station recently receiving a facelift. Further housing is planned to add to developments in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with 1,500 new homes scheduled for completion before 2030. Elsewhere, IQL developers have confirmed two new residential blocks which will reach 14 and 35 stories respectively. The hexagonal towers are set to be a fresh take on traditional 20th century residential towers, incorporating green roofs, planted terraces and “park ledges”.