With thanks to Daran Little’s Coronation Street: Around the Houses for all the info on the history of the odd side of the street prior to 1960 and thanks to Corriepedia for the info after 1960.
Continued from ‘The odd side of the street’ (Part 2)
Apart from 1902 to 1918 when the Popplewells (Ernest, Harry, Clara, Emily and Herbert) occupied it, Nº7 was occupied between 1918 and 1964 by the Hewitt family. Between 1918 and 1948 the house was occupied by Thomas, Harry, Mary, Alice, Harry and Frances Hewitt. One by one they left with Harry remaining. He stayed at Nº7 with wife Lizzie and daughter Lucille was born in 1949. This was the set-up until Lizzie was hit by a bus in 1959. Harry and Lucille lived alone until Harry married Concepta Riley in 1961 and their son Christopher was born in 1962. The Hewitts, apart from Lucille, left for Ireland in 1964. The following year the house collapsed and although there were plans to rebuilt, landlord Edward Wormold reconsidered and asked Len Fairclough and Jerry Booth to demolish the house. The land where the house once stood was later owned by the Hardcastle estate (who owned the houses before Wormold) and a bench was put there. Fifteen years passed before Len Fairclough decided to build a new house on the land and he and wife Rita and foster daughter Sharon Gaskell moved into the new house in 1982. Len didn’t live long in the house because he died in 1983. Rita inherited the house and continued to live there. Sharon had left for Sheffield in 1984.
In 1986, Rita took in Jenny Bradley as her foster daughter and Jenny’s father Alan, who became Rita’s partner, moved in in 1987. But Alan and Rita’s relationship turned sour as he had affairs, manipulated, lied and tried to kill her. This ended with Alan being killed by a tram while chasing Rita in Blackpool in 1989. Rita stayed on at Nº7 until 1990 when she moved to the flat above the new Kabin across the road. She rented the house out to many before selling the house to Curly Watts in 1992. Those who lodged and lived with Curly included Angie Freeman, Raquel Wolstenhulme (who Curly married in 1995), Andy and Steve McDonald, Samantha Failsworth, Jackie and Tyrone Dobbs and Emma Watts (Curly’s second wife whom he married in 2001). Curly, Emma and their son Ben left for Newcastle in 2003.
Blanche Hunt bought the house in 2003 for her pregnant granddaughter Tracy but Tracy left to visit Peter in Portsmouth. Blanche then sold the house to Beaumont Estates who rented it (I think!) to the Baldwins (Danny, Frankie, Jamie and Warren). They’d all left by 2007 and the estate agents sold Nº7 to Liam Connor who was joined by his fiancée and later wife Maria. Liam died in 2008. Maria gave birth to son Liam Jr. in 2009. Maria continued to live at Nº7 with the likes of Michelle and Ryan Connor, Tony Gordon and Kirk Sutherland. When Maria left for Ireland, Kirk stayed on as tenant before Maria sold the house to Dev Alahan and Kirk moved out. Dev, ex-wife Sunita and their twins Aadi and Asha moved in. Their relationship ended when Sunita had an affair with Karl Munro and Dev moved out in 2012. Karl moved in with Sunita and the twins but later got bored of Sunita and left. With Sunita now dead, the occupants consist now of Dev and the twins.
Nº9 occupants between 1902 and 1960 included the Crappers (Albert, Pearl, Jack, Ronnie, Bertie and Rose), the Bucks (Ned, Sarah, Larry, Joe, Alice, Kelly, Jim, Ben, Avis, Lucy and Ian), the Todds (Jack, Vi, Jim, Sally, Dot, Daisy and Clark), Jackie Rigby, Alf Nuttall and the Gibsons (Ted and Amy). In 1961, Ivan and Linda Cheveski bought Nº9 from Wormold and moved in but they soon left for Canada and left the sale of the house to Linda’s mum Elsie Tanner. On a trivial note, Nº9 was the last house to appear on-screen and that was in 1961, most probably because it was unoccupied in 1960. Newly-weds Ken and Valerie moved into Nº9 in 1962 and remained there, with twins Peter and Susan (b.1965) until they moved to the new maisonettes across the road in 1968 and sold the house to Len Fairclough who turned it into a bachelor pad. He was soon joined by Ray Langton in 1968 and Jerry Booth in 1971.
By 1975, Len was alone – Ray having married Deirdre and Jerry having died. Len married Rita Littlewood in 1977 who made Len modernise the place. After five years, they moved next-door to new Nº7 that Len had built. Len sold the house to Chalkie Whitely and his grandson Craig but they left for Australia in 1983. Chalkie sold the house to the Duckworths (Jack, Vera and Terry). Terry left home in 1988 and Curly lodged with them from 1989 to 1991. Jack and Vera stayed at Nº9 until 1995 when they bought the Rovers. The Duckworths had the front of the house stone-cladded in 1989, to the neighbours’ horror. The stone cladding has remained since and the Duckworths’ legacy remains.
The Duckworths sold Nº9 to the Malletts (Gary and Judy). Judy died in 1999 and Gary and their twins Billy and Becky (b. 1998) left for Blackpool in 2000, selling Nº9 back to the Duckworths. The Duckworths moved back in with lodger Tyrone Dobbs. This set-up remained until Tyrone’s future wife Molly Compton moved in in 2006 and the Duckworths’ grandson Paul Clayton moved in in 2007 (and left in 2008). Jack and Vera intended to retire to Blackpool in 2008 but Vera before doing so. Jack still sold the house to Tyrone and became a lodger. Jack moved out in 2009 to be with friend Connie Rathbone but briefly returned to die in 2010. Molly died in the tram crash in 2010. Tyrone was joined by the Duckworths’ other grandson Tommy in 2011 and Tina McIntyre. In 2011, Tyrone embarked on a relationship with Kirsty Soames but she turned out be a bully. Their daughter Ruby was born in 2012. Tyrone and Kirsty’s relationship has ended and Kirsty has left the street and Tyrone and Ruby remain at Nº9.
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