Weatherfield
Weatherfield is a fictional area of Greater Manchester[1] which serves as the setting for the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Weatherfield and Coronation Street
Tony Warren created Coronation Street in 1960, and based the show on the city of Salford, close by the television studios where it is produced. Like Salford, Weatherfield is a former industrial town, with most of its infrastructure being put in place thanks to the boom in the cloth and silk industries during the Industrial Revolution. Housing in Weatherfield is also typical of its former industry, with the majority of dwellings being small Victorian terraces.
Coronation Street is situated towards the centre of Weatherfield, and is flanked by Rosamund Street (the main thoroughfare towards the Manchester city centre) at its west. At the eastern end of Coronation Street is Viaduct Street and the former London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) railway viaduct. The viaduct now links Weatherfield to central Manchester via the Metrolink tram system.
The exterior set used in the filming of Coronation Street, which is currently based at the Granada Television complex in central Manchester, comprises only Coronation Street, Rosamund Street, Viaduct Street and Victoria Street. Other parts of fictional Weatherfield are filmed at locations in and around Manchester such as Eccles[2], Prestwich [3] and also parts of Salford.[4] Victoria Street is set to get a modern set of penthouses [5]
Modern Weatherfield
After World War II, vast areas of Manchester were re-developed.[6] In the 1960s and 1970s much of the traditional terraced housing gave way to concrete tower blocks and austere architecture. Weatherfield also saw extensive redevelopment, with tower blocks and council housing estates being built to the west of the town. Coronation Street' was faced with demolition on a number of occasions, but the terrace was always saved.
After the decline of Weatherfield's heavy industry, the area became a local centre for clothing manufacture. A PVC factory opened in 1966, with its premises on Coronation Street, manufacturing fashionable PVC clothing.[7] Coronation Street reflected changes in local administration when, in 1974, Weatherfield became part of the Greater Manchester county following the Local Government Act 1972.[1] In 1976, Michael Vernon Baldwin extended his successful denim manufacturing business to premises in the north. 'Baldwin's Casualwear Limited' traded in Weatherfield for 13 years.
In the 1990s, Weatherfield became a centre for regeneration. The building of modern houses and shop units was completed on Coronation Street in 1990, bringing a contemporary feel to the area. The Weatherfield Quays development, to the south of the town, opened in 1989, and Weatherfield became a desirable place for young professionals such as Des & Steph Barnes[8] to live.
The clothing industry in Weatherfield flourished, with Mike Baldwin opening his underwear factory Underworld in 1996[9] with other clothing manufacturers such as Wheelers and King's Robes setting up operations around this time. Underworld continues to manufacture underwear from its factory on Coronation Street.
Weatherfield was twinned with the fictional French town of Charleville in 1973.[10] The twinning was cancelled in 1994 after a dispute over bribery in a black pudding contest.[11]
Current residences and businesses
Residences
Businesses
| Coronation Street | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses | No. | Owners | Employees |
| Rovers Return Inn | Steve McDonald Liz McDonald |
Betty Williams Sean Tully Michelle Connor Becky Granger Poppy | |
| Audrey's Hair & Beauty Salon | 2 | Audrey Roberts | Maria Connor Natasha Blakeman |
| The Kabin | 10 | Rita Sullivan Norris Cole |
Tina McIntyre |
| Underworld | 14 | Carla Gordon Tony Gordon |
Rosie Webster Janice Battersby Fiz Brown Sean Tully Kelly Crabtree Wiki Dankowska Sally Webster Julie Carp |
| D&S's Alahan's |
15 | Dev Alahan | Molly Compton Amber Kalirai |
| Webster's Auto Centre | 16 | Kevin Webster Tyrone Dobbs |
|
| Victoria Street | |||
| Businesses | No. | Owners | Employees |
| Streetcars | Lloyd Mullaney Steve McDonald |
Eileen Grimshaw Claire Peacock Eddie Windass | |
| Webster's Builders | Audrey Roberts Bill Webster |
Jason Grimshaw | |
| Elliott and Sons | 14 | Ashley Peacock | Graeme Proctor |
| Roy's Rolls | 16 | Roy Cropper | Hayley Cropper Becky Granger |
| Prima Doner | 18 | Dev Alahan | Darryl Morton Minnie Chandra |
| Rosamund Street | |||
| Business | No. | Owners | Employees |
| Turf Accountant's | 9 | Peter Barlow | Leanne Battersby |
Areas of Weatherfield
Town centre
The centre of Weatherfield comprises all streets along Rosamund Street, starting at Curzon Street in the north and ending at Victoria Street in the south.[12] Places of interest in the town centre are Weatherfield Central Library, the DHSS, Queen's Shopping Precinct, Bessie Street Primary School and Weatherfield Town Hall.[12]. The supermarket in the town centre of Weatherfield is Freshco which took over the old Bettabuy store in the 1990s.
Other streets in the area include Mawdsley Street, Inkerman Street, Crimea Street, Bessie Street, Balaclava Terrace, Jubilee Terrace, Tile Street, Viaduct Street and Queen Street. Weatherfield has a crown court where Tracy Barlow was sentenced to 15 years for the murder of Charlie Stubbs, and a magistrates court where several residents have appeared in the dock including Les Battersby, Rita Sullivan, Kevin Webster, Tracy Barlow and Angela Harris. There is also a prison located within the Greater Manchester area.
Oakhill
The Oakhill area of Weatherfield is in the north-west of the town and is reputed to be the 'posh end'. It is home to Weatherfield's only independent school, Oakhill, which also takes the name of the area. Rosie Webster attended the school from 2004 to 2007. Alex Neeson, Nick Neeson and Wendy Neeson all live here, whereas Alex attends the school.
In the series, Audrey Roberts and Betty Williams both lived in Oakhill. Betty Williams (formerly Turpin) has lived on Hillside Crescent since 1970, having lived at two addresses in the same street.[12] Audrey moved to 5 Grasmere Drive with her late husband Alf in 1989.
Weatherfield Quays
The Weatherfield Quays development was completed in 1989 on the banks of the River Irwell.[13] Mike Baldwin moved into his flat at Montreal House in 1989, where he lived until his death in 2006. Mike's son Danny was living with Mike at the time. He later inherited the apartment. He moved out in late 2006.
Other notable residents of the Weatherfield Quays have been Steve McDonald, Alma Halliwell (formerly Baldwin), Dev Alahan, Maya Sharma and Danny Baldwin, and the only current known residents are Tony Gordon and Carla Gordon. [1]
Location filming for the Weatherfield Quays takes place at the Salford Quays.
The 'slums'
An area of Weatherfield that Tony Gordon acquired to build new apartments, Jed Stone was the only resident that stood in the way of his plans to build the area up, the street he lived on had an old broken car with most houses on the street boarded up.
The 'Slums' where later seen again, when Tony met the hitman who killed Liam Connor; Jimmy Dockerson, he handed him over cash for performing the murder, although the houses where still standing behind them, probably due to the Credit Crunch which has affected the sales of the Victoria Court apartments.
Newton and Ridley
The Newton and Ridley Brewery was established in Weatherfield in 1781.[14] During the 19th century, Newton and Ridley expanded its operations, moving towards the acquisition and construction of new public houses.
The Rovers Return Inn
In 1902 Newton & Ridley acquired the freehold to the newly built public house on Coronation Street.[15] The pub was named "The Rovers Return Inn" and is the principal meeting place in Coronation Street. Although the house is no longer owned by Newton and Ridley, the brewery's products are still available.
The Flying Horse
In 1850 Newton and Ridley opened "The Flying Dutchman" at the corner of Jubilee Terrace.[16]. The name was changed in 1905 to "The Flying Horse" for patriotic reasons.[16] Until around 1985, The Flying Horse was the biggest rival pub to the "Rovers Return", with the regulars from both houses clashing in many friendly contests such as a tug-of-war, mixed football and pub Olympics.[16]
The pub is due to make a return in 2009 for Tyrone's stag night and for a darts match.
The Laughing Donkey
"The Laughing Donkey" can be found on Ondurman Street, overlooking North Cross Park. It was the stronghold of Nellie Harvey (Mollie Sugden), acquaintance and nemesis of Rovers Return landlady, Annie Walker.[17]
The Queens
"The Queens" was built in 1931 and its situated towards the 'trendy' Weatherfield Quays, south of Weatherfield.[18] The pub was introduced to Coronation Street in 1993, seeing current Rovers landlady Liz McDonald installed as landlady by Newton and Ridley.
The Weatherfield Arms
Another rival to the Rovers Return, "The Weatherfield Arms", appeared around 2003. The location of the pub is unknown. Liz McDonald was the manager for a while here after she lost her job at the Rover's Return. Other Coronation Street residents such as Bev Unwin and Cilla Battersby-Brown have been employed here.
The Turks Head
A rival pub that has been referred to from time to time on the show.
Educational institutions
A number of schools and colleges have featured in Coronation Street throughout the years.
Bessie Street Primary School
Formerly "Bessie Street Mixed Infants" and "Bessie Street Juniors", "Bessie Street Primary School" is the main institution for primary education in Weatherfield.
Many of the characters in the programme attended Bessie Street as children, including Albert Tatlock, Ken Barlow, Dennis Tanner, Tracy Barlow, Nick Tilsley, Chesney Battersby-Brown and Bethany Platt.
Some characters have also worked there, the most notable being Ken Barlow who took his first teaching job at Bessie Street in 1961 where he worked intermittently until 1974.[19] Esther Hayes, who lived at No.5 Coronation Street until 1962, also worked as a teacher at the school.[20] The role of lollipop man at Bessie Street has been held by Albert Tatlock, Percy Sugden and Jack Duckworth.
The only Coronation Street residents currently attending are Joshua Peacock, Amy Barlow and Simon Barlow.
The school hasn't featured on screen for a number of years.
Weatherfield High School
Formerly "Weatherfield Comprehensive School", "Weatherfield High School" is the main institution for secondary education in Weatherfield. The school specialises in the 11-16 age group, although some pupils have sat their A-Level examinations, which would suggest that the school has Sixth (VI) Form facilities.
Lucille Hewitt was the first character to sit her O-Level examinations at the newly formed Weatherfield Comprehensive in 1965.[21] The school was created by the amalgamation of the Weatherfield School for Girls' and the Weatherfield Boys' School.[21]
The school rarely featured until Ken Barlow returned to teaching in 1991, taking a post in the English department. By this time, Tracy Barlow was a pupil at the school, along with Steve and Andy McDonald and Nicky Tilsley. Derek Wilton worked as a caretaker at the school for a period in 1992. The school was referred to as 'Weatherfield Comp' in many scripts. Since 2004, references to 'Weatherfield Comp' have ceased and the school has started to be known as 'Weatherfield High'.
Other former pupils include Jenny Bradley, Toyah Battersby, Sarah-Louise Platt, Candice Stowe, Todd Grimshaw,Aiden Critchley, Rosie Webster and Craig Harris. In 2004, Violet Wilson was identified as a former pupil of Ken Barlow and sometimes still referred to him as "sir".
Coronation Street residents currently attending are Ryan Connor, Sophie Webster and Chesney Battersby-Brown. Amber Kalirai currently attends the sixth form at the school.
Scenes at Weatherfield High School are filmed on location at Hope High School in Salford.
Oakhill School
Weatherfield's only private school is in the Oakhill area of the town.
The school first appeared in the programme in 1993 when Mike Baldwin offered to pay for his estranged son Mark Redman to be educated there.[22] In 2004 Oakhill reappeared when Rosie Webster was accepted to the school where she studied for her GCSEs.
There are no on screen characters currently attending the school.
Scenes at Oakhill School are filmed on location at Cheadle Hulme School[23]
Sport and recreation
Football
Weatherfield County FC is the town's principal football team, referred to as playing in the Football Conference in the English non-league. The fictional team has appeared in scripts since 1961 when David Barlow was a player.[24] Warren Baldwin was signed for the team in 2004. The team strip is green and white.
Rugby League
Weatherfield Rugby League Club first appeared in scripts in 1999 when ex-player Duggie Ferguson [25] joined the programme. Shelley Unwin (former Rovers manageress) was barmaid at the club's bar until 2001.
'The Red Rec'
Familiar term for "The Red Recreation Ground", this is Weatherfield's principal area for sport and recreation and is situated to the south east of the town. The Red Rec has a children's play area, grassed areas where football (soccer) pitches are marked out, and a woodland park area. The recreation ground has featured in the programme since the early 1960s, and has always been referred to as 'The Red Rec'.[26] The 'Red' in the name comes from the surface which is either red shale or crushed bricks packed down very tightly[27] however it was suggested in a script from 2000 that the name was given because the site is a former battleground. (See also: Red Rec protest.)
Local press
Weatherfield has its own local newspaper, The Weatherfield Gazette. A free local newspaper also existed until 1990, known as The Weatherfield Recorder [28], Also Weatherfeild has a tabloid newspaper called The Daily Pulse.
Restaurants
There are three main restaurants residents visit: The Clock, Delphine's, and Valandro's. All three have been popular in recent years.
Valandro's
Valandro's is an Italian restaurant. It was previously used as a secondary setting to restaurants such as The Clock, until equally bought by Carla Connor and Leanne Battersby in May 2007. After the unexpected death of Paul Connor however, Carla pulled out of the transaction, leaving Leanne to fund the cost of buying the business herself; she used money earned from being an escort, combined with a £10,000 loan from Roger Stiles. Amidst a wealth of financial trouble and staffing problems in July 2007, Leanne hired Paul Clayton to work at the restaurant as head chef, Paul later took out a loan in Jack Duckworth's name, and bought a share of the restaurant. Paul later carried out Leanne's ambitions on arsoning the restaurant resulting in Paul fleeing the country.
The business was failing, so in 2008 Leanne convinced Paul to set fire to the restaurant in order to claim the insurance. [29]
Health
The main NHS medical facilities are located at Weatherfield General Hospital. The wards at the hospital are named after singers including George Formby and Gracie Fields.
There is also a medical practice situated on the junction between Rosamund Street and Coronation Street. Gail Platt is employed as a receptionist at the practice. A former Coronation Street resident, Dr Matt Ramsden was employed there while he lived in Weatherfield.
Transport
A form of public transport is provided via a bus service called the Weatherfield Wayfarer. The bus can be boarded from the stop on Rosamund Street. A bus shelter there provides Weatherfield residents with a comfortable wait guarded from the elements, however, when Victoria Street was closed due to the construction of the Victoria Court apartment complex, a temporary bus stop was located outside the Medical Centre on the opposite side of Rosamund Street when an alternative diversion route was in operation. The service is currently provided by a Stagecoach bus, branded Weatherfield Wayfarer. Although at one time, a bus grey in colour, was used to provide the service.
Metrolinks trams also are in operation through Weatherfield. It is unknown if tram stops are present in the immediate area though, as most residents prefer to take the bus. The Metrolink system runs along the viaduct on Viaduct Street which separates Coronation Street and Jubilee Terrace.
Print references
- Hill, Bill Little, Daran. Weatherfield Life, Boxtree, 1992. (ISBN 1852831863)
- Little, Daran. Life and Times at the Rovers Return, Boxtree, 1993. (ISBN 3-5791-0864-2)
- Little, Daran. p.93. 40 Years of Coronation Street, Granada Media, 2000. (ISBN 0-233-99806-3)
References
- ^ a b Little. (2000) p.93.
- ^ imdb.com
- ^ imdb.com
- ^ imdb.com
- ^ ITV's Coronation Street website
- ^ Manchester Libraries
- ^ Little. (2000) p.40.
- ^ "Des Barnes". corrie.net. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.234.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.88.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.218.
- ^ a b c "Weatherfield Map". corrie.net. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.192.
- ^ Little. (1993) p.10.)
- ^ Little. (1993) p.12.
- ^ a b c Little. (1993) p.85.
- ^ Little. (1993) p.80-82.
- ^ Little. (1993) p.118-121.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.13.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.20.
- ^ a b Little. (2000) p.35.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.212.
- ^ "Cheadle Hulme School". imdb.com. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
- ^ Little. (2000) p.12.
- ^ Corrie.net
- ^ Little. (2000)
- ^ Corrie.net
- ^ Little. (2000) p.195.
- ^ Coronation Street: Paul Sets Fire to Valandro’s on Product Reviews Net