Coronation Street

I can’t say for sure, but I may well have been the first and last to properly capture this one in its derelict state. I did so with love.

CASTLEFIELD, MANCHESTER
PHOTOGRAPHED 2016-2018

I first snuck onto the Corrie set back in 2012 and it wasn’t exactly my stealthiest of missions. To cut a long story short, I ended up hidden under a workbench in the builders’ yard for a good hour or so. It was exciting, but unintentionally creepy on my part (at one point, a cast member walked into the room I was in, which made for a slightly nerve-wracking experience). It was time to go, so I made my attempted escape.

If you know – or are interested in knowing – the behind-the-scenes layout of the old set, there were really only two places I could get to without being seen: the hospital, or the bookies. The bookies turned out to be a no-go (they were filming inside, which I’m led to believe isn’t that common) so I ended up stranded in the hospital set for a bit before trying, and failing, to get out.

Needless to say, Corrie‘s long-serving security manager, a burly bloke named Dave, wasn’t too pleased. Words were had before I was escorted off the site and politely advised to never return.

But ITV vacated the site soon after and I got my first sneaky glimpse of the abandoned set in 2015 following its temporary run as a tourist attraction. All I have to show for it, however, is this measly photo:

It wasn’t until late 2016 that I finally got to document the set properly across multiple visits, spanning just over a year and covering every nook and cranny I could possibly find. After failing to secure heritage protection through listing, the site was eventually demolished in April 2018 after over 30 years of service (and a good 20 years before that).

• 1960: Coronation Street set built in Studio 2 at the Granada TV Centre.

  

• 1962: The set moves to Studio 6.

  

• 1964: Temporary outdoor set erected in the car park for three episodes in January of this year.

  

• 1968: Wooden indoor set weatherproofed and moved outside to former railway goods yard. Maisonettes introduced.

  

• 1969: New brick outdoor set built, first appearing in Episode 944 in 1970 (in colour).

  

• 1971: Archie Street in Salford – the real-life inspiration for Coronation Street – is demolished. In Weatherfield, the maisonettes are demolished and replaced with a community centre and factory.

  

  

• 1982: A brand new set is built using reclaimed bricks and slates from Archie Street and other demolished Salford houses. Located 100m away from the old one in a former railway marshalling yard, the set is opened by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The old set is demolished shortly after.

  

  

• 1989: On the new set, the community centre and factory are demolished, to be replaced with a modern residential terrace. In real life, the Stage One building (1984) is converted from Granada’s Superbowl studio to Coronation Street‘s studio. The new studio opens in 1990.

  

• 1990: Construction of the new terrace is completed, with a salon, garage, commercial unit (later, factory) and newsagents built alongside. The Viaduct Street arch is filled to make another commercial unit which is dressed as a joinery to hide the newly-opened Stage One.

  

• 1996: Stage One is expanded to create a dedicated control room and scene dock.

  

• 1999: Victoria Street and the brewery gates are added and Rosamund Street is revamped. The Rosamund Street ‘bridge’ is erected in 2000.

  

• 2002: The Stage Two building (1993/extended 1995) – which originally housed the Sherlock Holmes set – is converted for use by Coronation Street from 2003. The builders’ yard set (opposite Stage 2) is also added in 2003.

  

• 2004: The site of the original outdoor set becomes ‘Weatherfield Precinct’, featuring a car showroom and subsequent frontages for a restaurant, casino, lapdancing club, tanning salon, nightclub, bar, and newsagents.

  

• 2008: The Victoria Court façade is added to hide Stage Two and complete Victoria Street.

  

• 2010: Parts of the shops at the eastern end of Coronation Street (at its junction with Viaduct Street) and the top of the viaduct façade itself are re-built as part of the tram crash storyline.

  

• 2013: 20 December 2013 marks the final day of filming for Coronation Street at the Granada TV Centre. The lot is demolished five years later.

  

• 2014: 9 January 2014 marks the first day of filming at Coronation Street‘s new Trafford Wharf studios.

  

• 2017: To cater for an increased filming schedule, the set store is converted into two new studios and ITV acquire over 3,000 sq m of additional set construction/storage space at two nearby warehouses.
  
  Both of these sites have since been used as filming locations for the likes of Weatherfield High School interiors, Eckworth Transport Ltd (where Rob keeps Carla hostage), the back office areas of Weatherfield Police Station (including the CID operations room), and Legacy Reach Paper Mill (specifically, the episode where Pat Phelan gets stuck in a pit of liquid concrete).

  

  

• 2018: Codenamed Project Aero, 12 March saw the unveiling of the new Victoria Street set (incorporating new additional storage and filming spaces) which was built using cobbles reclaimed from the old set.

  

• 2022: While final work took place on the new Coronation Street Visitor Centre & Event Space, a new Weatherfield Precinct set was revealed on 1 December.

Gallery (old set only)

Demolition panoramas (click to view)

Press cuttings

Bonus pics: Up on the tram viaduct in 2023