Coronation Street sets
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The sets of the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street have changed since first broadcast in December 1960.
As of 2006, one side of Coronation Street consists of early 20th century terraced houses, with a public house, The Rovers Return, at one end, and a corner shop at the other. The other side of the street consists of a factory, two shop units, a garage and three semi-detached houses all constructed in the late 1980s.
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[edit] Coronation Street - exterior sets
[edit] The 1960s and 1970s
From 1960 until 1968, the complete set of Coronation Street (house interiors and exteriors) was erected inside one of Granada Television's studios in central Manchester, with the houses reduced in scale by 3/4.[1] This small set was awkward for the actors, who had to walk more slowly than normal to appear in scale with the houses. There are a number of reasons for the use of an indoor studio; the main one being that the infancy of production techniques at the time did not allow easy recording and editing of sequences filmed in different locations.[2] It wasn't until 1967 that editing techniques had improved enough to allow Coronation Street to be filmed on separate interior and exterior sets.
The studios were not big enough for the entire street to be erected at once, so it was split into two halves.[3] The pavements and cobbled street were painted onto the studio floor.[2]
Despite the limitations of the cramped studio set, some complex and dramatic scenes were filmed there. These include the collapse of Number 7 in 1965, and two years later, a special-effects-laden storyline involving a train crash; the viewers did not know if stalwart Ena Sharples was dead under the rubble.
In 1967, Granada Television made the decision to build an outside set. This new set was built on some old railway sidings near Granada Studios, and coincided with a storyline of the demolition of Elliston's Raincoat Factory and the Mission Hall, and the subsequent building of maisonettes opposite the terrace.[4]
Coronation Street's 1968 set was not all that different from the interior version previously used, with the wooden facades that had been used in the studio simply being erected on the new site. The only real change seen on screen was natural light illuminating the street for the first time. In late 1968 the Street was constructed in brick, with roofs and back yards added later. The set was still reduced in scale and quite cramped and even though the pavements and cobbled street were now real, the cobbles were not parallel to the houses, and ran diagonally down the street.[1]
The first exterior set was referred to as "the coldest place on earth".[3] by actors and crew since they disliked working on it due to a near-constant wind which blew directly down the street. Filming on the new exterior set was kept to a minimum, not only because the actors disliked the set, but because of the high cost of using film for exterior sequences.[5]
The site later became the New York Street at the now-closed Granada Studios Tour complex.
[edit] The 1980s to present.
In 1982 full-size exterior street was built in the Granada backlot, with the cobbles running in the correct direction. Since it was intended to be permanent, the houses were constructed from reclaimed Salford brick and roof slates, to give an authentic look. The houses were not complete as they had no interior walls; the chimneys had to be made of fibreglass, since there would be insufficient support. The new set was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1982.[1]
In the following years, staircases were added inside the doors of the houses in order to give a "realistic" look to the outdoor set during filming. A number of Granada tower blocks dominate the skyline over the street, and are usually obscured/'hidden' through careful camera angles.
Towards the end of the 1980s, scenes filmed on the exterior set became more numerous, after the show's location work switched to significantly cheaper videotape in 1988.[6]
1989 saw large development of the Coronation Street set. The factory and Community Centre which had occupied the site since 1971 were demolished, and three new houses, two shop units, a garage and a factory were built on the site. These developments were the idea of new executive producer, David Liddiment.[7]
When the Granada Studios Tour was closed in 1999, the exterior set was extended and updated. The derelict Graffiti Club on Rosamund Street was revamped and reopened as a medical centre/surgery. A new street, Victoria Street, was built to house three shops and two houses and a builders' yard was built, backing onto the betting shop. To obscure one of the Granada Television buildings, a new viaduct was placed on Rosamund Street (behind the Rovers and parallel to Coronation Street). The 'viaduct' is actually a façade with an optical illusion to make it look complete. A backdrop of some Salford streets was erected in 2005 which allowed shots to be filmed looking up Rosamund Street and creating the illusion of other dwellings further down Rosamund Street.
In 2006, the 48-storey Beetham Tower was completed in Manchester, with views overlooking the set.
[edit] Interior filming & sets
The majority of interior scenes are shot in the adjoining purpose-built studio, Stage One. The Stage One soundstage was constructed in 1990 next to the exterior set and it was the first time that the actors were given their own dressing rooms.[8] The interior sets were also moved into Stage One, with the Rovers, café and shops being erected permanently. The interior sets for the houses are constructed as and when required. The Stage One complex also included make-up and costume areas, as well as a Green Room.
The development of Stage One was down to producers of the time David Liddiment and Mervyn Watson who were determined to update the production techniques used.[7] The techniques they introduced are still widely used today, although the schedules are a lot tighter due to the high volume of episodes now produced.
[edit] Architecture of Coronation Street
The architecture of Coronation Street was based on Archie Street, Ordsall, an area of Salford which has long been demolished. Archie Street appeared in the programme's original opening credits.
There is an Archie Street in Salford today, but not on the site of the original - which stood near St Clement's Church, Ordsall.
For a glimpse of the original Archie Street take a look at Real 1970s. This blog contains a photograph of the street and the church, shortly before the street was demolished in 1971. The church still stands today.
[edit] Weatherfield life - the changing face of Coronation Street
Although the story of Coronation Street only began on television in 1960, numerous writers have invented and imagined a complete history of the Street and its residents, spanning back to 1902.
According to the story, the Street was built in 1902, and named after the coronation of King Edward VII. The terrace is the only part of the Street to remain relatively unaltered since 1902. The only real structural change came about in 1965 when Number 7 collapsed due to underground movements from old mine-workings. The house was not reconstructed until 1982; during 1965 and 1982, a park bench was placed in the gap between Numbers 5 and 9.
On the other hand, the "other" side of the Street has been the object of many redevelopments. Elliston's Raincoat Factory had stood since 1882 - it was originally Hardcastle's Mill - and was demolished in 1968, along with the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, to make way for a block of flats, or "maisonettes". The maisonettes were demolished in 1971 were replaced with the Mark Brittain Warehouse and a new Community Centre.
1989 saw the most radical redevelopment Coronation Street had ever seen, when the factory and centre were demolished and three new houses, two shop units, a garage and a factory were built on the site. They all still remain to this day.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Tinker, Jack. p.95. Coronation Street; A fully-illustrated record of television's most popular serial, Treasure Press, 1987. (ISBN 1-85051-229-9)
- ^ a b Tinker. p.10.
- ^ a b Podmore, Bill. p.121. Coronation Street; The Inside Story, MacDonald, 1990. (ISBN 0-356-17971-0)
- ^ Little, Daran. p.45. 40 Years of Coronation Street, Granada Media, 2000. (ISBN 0-233-99806-3)
- ^ Little. p.51.
- ^ Little. p.182.
- ^ a b Little. p.188.
- ^ Little. p.194.
