Mrs Delamere

Mrs Delamere was the senior judge of the "Best Kept Street" competition held in Weatherfield in July 1967. Along with her fellow judges Councillor Wilson and Mr Foley, editor of the Weatherfield Gazette, the well-to-do Mrs Delamere had the task of touring the local streets and meeting the residents.

Eager to get their hands on the £100 prize money, the inhabitants of Coronation Street had gone to a genuine effort to make their homes presentable, putting out window boxes, hanging baskets, union flags, and above the Rovers Return, a striped canopy. Having met Mrs Delamere at a Licenced Victuallers function the year before, Annie Walker appointed herself as the spokesperson for Coronation Street and formed a welcome committee for the judges with Ena Sharples and Hilda Ogden. Their best laid plans went awry when, moments before the judges arrival, the welfare arrived in the Street to remove the squatting Lawson family from No.3. Fortunately, the judges arrived just as the car pulled away but Hilda instantly threw away their stroke of luck when, thinking that the regal Mrs Delamere was just a friend of Annie's, she told the woman everything. Annie made a valiant attempt to recover from Hilda's blunder by relating the story in kinder language, referring to the Lawsons as "homeless unfortunates", but while she took it in her stride, Mrs Delamere commented that it was a pity.

Starting from the Corner Shop, the welcome committee led the judges down the Street, stopping at each house along the way with Ena introducing the inhabitants, and Annie prompting them on social etiquette. Minnie Caldwell, treating the inspection like a visit from royalty, nervously gave an inappropriate reply to Mrs Delamere's greeting, while when outside No.1 she noticed that Albert Tatlock's "hanging basket" was actually an upside down air raid warden's helmet, which Annie quickly explained as being an attempt to have each house reflect the personality of its owner. Lastly, Mrs Delamere was impressed with Annie's canopy, although Ena managed to get in a dig at her neighbour by telling Mrs Delamere that she didn't put one over the Glad Tidings Mission Hall out of respect.

The eventual winner of the competition was Inkerman Street.