Coronation Street props, costumes and memorabilia to be exhibited in October

I'm making my third annual appearance at Houghton Feast in October. It's an ancient festival in my home town, just outside of Durham, organised by Paul Lanagan of Corrie Art.

As regular readers of the blog will know, I've amassed a large collection of Coronation Street memorabilia, taking in pieces from the former Corrie Tour at Quay Street and Mark Llewellin's old display at the Daisy Nook Garden Centre in Failsworth.

I've got costumes, props, documents and a whole lot more - and I can't wait to be able to show everything again in October. There's even some new pieces that I acquired a couple of months ago alongside some items that I've never ever displayed.

This year, there is a small charge. I must stress that I am making 0% profit from this and it isn't going to fund the collection. This is something I pay for off of my own back and would never ask for donations. The entry fee (£5 for adults, £3 for children and a family ticket for £14) is to go towards the running of Houghton Feast, which year on year is threatened by the lack of council funding. The fee also allows you unlimited access to other events within the venue.

I hope to see you there - see the above poster for more info!

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Coronation Street memorabilia goes on display

Our blogger Michael Adams has collected a wonderful range of Coronation Street memorabilia over the years. And today he had some of the collection on show at Houghton Feast, which is a local festival to me. How could I not go along and take a look? 

It was a wonderful morning spent viewing Michael's collection which ranged from Corrie wedding table plans through to coffin plates, door name plates from the old Corrie set, characters' clothing, a full range of books and lots more.

Here are a few photographs I took of just some of Michael's very many bits and pieces of Corrie memorabilia that he's collected. Many he has bought from eBay and some he has been given from insiders at the show.

 

 

As I was speaking to Micheal and catching up on all things Corrie, an older gentlemen came over to see the collection. He had with him a carrier bag which he handed to Michael and he told him that he would like him to have his own Coronation Street collection of magazines and signed photographs. The man used to write to Coronation Street cast members back in the day and ask them for their autographs. This was just one of the very many that Michael was given. How wonderful!

You can follow Michael's collection on Twitter @CStCollection and view it online at Coronation Street Collection.

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Collecting Coronation Street: Costumes

Roy's jumper from the 40th Anniversary episode

Following the Twitter poll that I posted after my last Collecting Coronation Street instalment, 45% of you wanted me to cover the costumes in my collection.

I've also been receiving an influx of requests for the costumes part of my website to be updated, but I haven't yet had the chance to get all of the character's clothes out of the wardrobe to take photographs. However, for the purposes of this blog, I've took some photos so therefore I'll now be able to update the new look website. Anyway, on with the post!

My first dip into collecting Coronation Street costumes was possibly one of the biggest risks. I'd seen characters clothing sold on eBay for ridiculous sums of money in the past and on a few occasions I'd missed out on some right bargains which hadn't been listed properly. But I wasn't going to let my next eBay discovery slip.

A user was selling a jacket with a Granada Studios certificate of authenticity that supposedly belonged to Anne Kirkbride's Deirdre Barlow. Due to obvious reasons (it's Deirdre!) I wanted to get my hands on it and I watched the auction for days. Ultimately, this was another example of a poorly listed item and it was sold to me for just over £20. The information I'd been given in the auction description was rubbish and in the days leading up to it's arrival I was adamant that I'd just purchased a jacket that hadn't even been anywhere near Manchester, never mind on the back of one of the most iconic characters in Corrie history, ever.

When it arrived I noticed the tag had 'Deirdre' written on, and there was a little pinhole in the lapel. Diving into Glenda Young's Deirdre book (which is a really good read), I found a photo of Deirdre with Ken at their failed wedding of 2005. Deirdre was wearing the jacket. It wasn't a waste of money after all!

Here it is - Deirdre's jacket.

Whilst Deirdre's jacket is probably my most favourite costume I own, and most definitely the biggest talking point when exhibited, I also have other items of clothing worn by characters over the years, each with a Granada certificate of authenticity. Depending on the popularity of the character, their clothes typically sell for more or less. For example, I have purchased a dress owned by Bev Unwin and a jumper worn by Maxine Peacock for less than a tenner, whilst shirts and blouses worn by Kirk Sutherland, Jason Grimshaw and Sally Webster cost considerably more.

I've also purchased a range of character's accessories through eBay, usually sold as charity auctions, and this way I have obtained pieces such as Fiz's iconic "Fiz" necklace, Norris' tie and a brooch worn by Mary Taylor.

A really hideous dress worn by Bev Unwin

When it comes to buying costumes from eBay I always make sure they come with a certificate or letter supplied by Granada. There are so many auctions listed as "Coronation Street costume" that are just clothes purchased in the high street that are replicas of those worn on the show. I always ensure that they are screen used, otherwise - what's the point in owning them?

Please do let me know what you'd like me to cover in my next Collecting Coronation Street post! I've already featured props and autographs.

I can be found on Twitter, @MichaelAdamsUk, and on my Corrie Collection account @CStCollection.

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Corrie memorabilia found by fan

Coronation Street fan Martyn Hett is the creator of The Audrey Roberts Noise.  He's also had an iconic image of Deirdre Barlow tattooed on his leg

Martyn has given us permission here on the Blog to share with fans these amazing pictures.  The pictures have come from a friend of Martyn's mum who's father recently passed away - and he used to work on set design for Coronation Street.

 

This photograph of the cast attending a party(?), Martyn thinks might be from 1986. Look how glamorous Eileen Derbyshire is in this one.

 

 This picture is the front of an invitation to attend Coronation Street's 16th anniversary party in 1976.

And this is the reverse side of the invitation.. RSVP to Bill Podmore, who was then the Coronation Street producer.

What amazing Corrie memorabilia this is. Thankyou so much to @martynhett for sharing it with us.

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Roy and Hayley's Woody up for sale

Coronation Street Blog reader Allen De Young has written to tell us that a very well known Corrie vehicle is currently up for sale. 

Yes, Roy and Hayley Cropper's lovely "Woody", a 1963 Morris Minor Traveller is on the market for a new owner. As you will remember only Hayley drove the car on screen as Roy couldn't drive, despite her best efforts to encourage him before her sad death earlier this year.

If you fancy driving about in a piece of modern day Coronation Street history, have a look here. Thanks Allen! 


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Corrie tucked away in a Daisy Nook

My holiday in Manchester included a visit to the newly opened Coronation Street tour. What I hadn't expected was to make a trip to a garden centre for another mini-Corrie tour. Mark Llewellin has been associated with Coronation Street and many of its actors for some years now. I've met Mark several times before and he invited us to visit him at a garden centre of which he's part owner, the Daisy Nook Garden Centre in Failsworth, near Ashton Under Lyne. We could have a cuppa and a nice catch up. Sounds like a plan!

I didn't discover until after the invitation was issued that he has put some of his attic full of Corrie memorabilia on display at the garden centre. He has amassed quite a lot over the years, between things being given to him or things he's bought occasionally from eBay sellers and it was tucked away. Why not show it off and give fans a treat? He's set up a little nook in the Daisy Nook Garden Centre with displays, posters, and artifacts and he has brought in Corrie related merchandise as well at very reasonable prices. Naturally, I couldn't resist that, could I?

He's got a signed script that belonged to Vicki Binns (Molly Dobbs) from the 50th anniversary tram crash episode as well as a few other signed items and photos. He's got lots of photos and press clippings and he also has a Street backdrop set up with a replica of Maxine's Bench in front for photo opportunities. Some of the props he's got are not the original ones from Granada but are there to tell a story such as a red telephone. Elsie Tanner always had a red phone and the set dressers have made sure there's been a red phone of some type on the set of Number 11 (Eileen Grimshaw's house currently) ever since. Watch for it!

There's a brick from Stan and Hilda Ogden's house from the set that was taken apart in 1982 and there's a little corner with a mural and a trio of one of the sets of ducks that Granada had on it, with a little table, lamp and photos set up beneath it. You can see a small gold handbag that belonged to Maxine Peacock which she had on the night she was killed by Richard Hillman and there's the statue that Tracy Barlow used to wallop Charlie Stubbs (rubber, of course!) There is even a little bar in the corner with Newton and Ridley items and fronted with a table and two chairs. It turns out these are original set pieces that used to "live" in the snug. There's a large photograph on the wall behind the bar and you can see it's the same table.

There are lots of other interesting items in the exhibit and Mark has brought in Corrie merchandise to purchase. He's got mugs, keyrings, magnets, shopping bags, and other items and he stocks a few of the autobiographies that have been recently released as well. He's just waiting for a shipment of Glenda Young's new book on Roy and Hayley, too!

After we had a look around, we went to the lovely cafe where a scrumptious cake and coffee or tea is only 2 pounds! While we were sitting there, a friend of Mark's came over to the table. It was Roy Barraclough who used to play Alec Gilroy! He sat down and we had a nice little chat. Mr. Barraclough was very gracious and pleasant to us!

The Daisy Nook Garden Centre also greets a few bus tours of fans through the season. We drove there but you can get there by public transport. You can get there by tram to Ashton under Lyne and then bus 168 or 169 to Daisy Nook. The postcode is M35 9WJ if you have a satnav and a vehicle. It's a lovely garden centre, too and worth a trip out of the city. The area and village there is quite lovely.

You can see a few more photos here. 

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