The set as seen from Beetham Tower, taken by me in July 2013.
The second outdoor set was the "Coronation Street" set used from 1982 to 2013. It was built flanking the remians of a real cobbled street. Also reclaimed Salford bricks from demolished houses was used to help build the set. This set replaced The Grape Street set (1968-1982).
In 1981 a decision was made by the Coronation Street production team to build a new outdoor set for the show. They felt The Grape Street set was not authentic enough due to the scaled down houses, also the set was dubbed as the "coldest place on Earth" by cast and crew.
Construction 1981-1982[]
Using reclaimed bricks from Salford demolition sites, the shows producers had the new Coronation Street set start construction in 1981. The new set was to be much larger and there was to be a ginnel inbetween The Rovers Return and Number 1 Coronation Street to finally end the "Rovers toilets leading into No 1's living room" debates. The railway viaduct at the end of the street was in reality just a wall with a few arches to make it look like a viaduct if you stood in the street. One of the major additions to the new set was Number 7 Coronation Street. In the show, 17 years earlier in 1965 No 7 had collapsed and a bench was placed in the gap where No 7 stood but in 1982 a storyline was written where character Len Fairclough had No 7 rebuilt. The set was built with intricate detail and the "Dennis Tanner 1951" etching was etched into the exterior window sill of the front window of No 11.
Usage 1982-2014[]
The new set was first seen on screen in Ep 2210 - 7 Jun 1982. Until the construction of Studio 2 of the Granada Studios, you could see right through the viaduct arch to what was beyond the set. You could see a 3 storey block of flats. This was in fact on Rozel Square on the other side of Lower Byrom Street which the "viaduct" ran parallel to. Behind it was some old townhouses on Byrom Street. Inbetween Byrom Street and the famous Deansgate is Longworth Street.
Since 2014[]
The set was then used as a Coronation Street tour, where fans of the show could buy tickets and go onto the set. This tour ceased for good in 2015.
The iconic set was demolished in 2017-2018 to make way for a new housing and commercial complex on the old Granada Studios site.
Gallery[]
