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Next Meeting: 16 September 2024:
‘Coronation Street - Early Days’ - Mark Llewellin
First broadcast on December 9th 1960, Coronation Street, created by 24 year old Tony Warren, has remained a nation’s favourite for nearly 65 years.
Coronation Street was partly borne out of the wish of Granada to produce more local drama, as they were contractually obliged to employ regional actors and production staff. Warren drew on his own memories of growing up in Swinton and created Coronation Street (initially Florizel Street), a working-class community inhabited by “ordinary” people leading unspectacular lives. From the first episode it has been dominated by female characters. In that era of the Cold War, ‘The Street’ had its own version, the head to head between Ena Sharples and Elsie Tanner. As different as chalk and cheese, Ena thought that Elsie was nothing but a harlot with loose morals, whereas Elsie viewed Ena as an interfering, mean-tempered, mean-spirited old battle-axe.
Though elucidating a mixed response from critics and not wholly supported in Granada, at first, the viewers took to the programme to heart, taking pleasure from the Northern English language and dialect, and hearing local words and accents rarely heard on television before.
As with the News of The World of the time, the programme’s first ten years had all human life within. The everyday consistency of the writing and performances made it the nation’s favourite programme.
Mark Llwellin gave a tour de force on the history of ‘It’s Behind You! ' in December 2022, returns to take us back to the birth of this groundbreaking show that, in the 1960s and 1970s, regularly attracted figures of between 18 and 21 million viewers
Programme for our 2024 - 2025 Season.
Browse a record of the 2023 - 2024 Season to get a feel for what to expect.
Every September thousands of volunteers across England organise events to celebrate our fantastic history and culture. It's your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore. Heritage Open Days 2024: 6-15 September within 10 miles of Marple
