7 Coronation Street

7 Coronation Street is the middle house in Coronation Street and is located between No.5 and No.9.

No.7 is unique in the Street as it was technically built in 1982 by Len Fairclough. The original No.7 was demolished in 1965 when the front of the house collapsed due to a faulty beam and the owner, Mr. Wormold, had it destroyed due to the massive cost of repairs. However, aside from the brickwork, the new house does not differ hugely from the old one.

The current owner is Dev Alahan, proprieter of the Corner Shop and Prima Donner in Victoria Street. Dev bought the house in 2010 after reconciling with his ex-wife Sunita and for two years they lived there with their twin children Aadi and Asha although they are now separated and Sunita's lover Karl Munro moved in after his affair with Sunita was publically exposed. Dev lives at the shop flat.

Previous residents include Len and Rita Fairclough, Jenny and Alan Bradley, Angie Freeman, Curly and Raquel Watts, Samantha Failsworth, Emma Watts, Danny, Frankie, Jamie and Warren Baldwin, and Liam and Maria Connor. The old No.7 was the home of the Harry, Concepta and Lucille Hewitt but was uninhabited at the time of its collapse.

Construction
7 Coronation Street was built along with the other houses in the row, including the Corner Shop and the Rovers Return, between 1900 and 1902. When built, all houses had the same layout (although adjacent houses were mirror images of each other): a front parlour, a separate hallway and staircase, a kitchen and scullery on the ground floor, three bedrooms upstairs, and an outside toilet and coal hole in the back yard.

The house was completed on 9th August 1902 and the first family to move in was the Popplewells.

Modifications: The original house
After the Popplewells came the Hewitts, who inhabited No.7 until 1964. Thomas and Mary Hewitt lost their jobs at Hardcastle's Mill when it closed in 1931 and after six months on the dole, Thomas sold all of their possessions except for their beds and a table in order to apply for assistance under the Means Test.

When Concepta Riley married Harry Hewitt and moved into No.7, she insisted on changes, as the decor and furniture had remained the same since before Harry's first wife passed away. Harry gave in and purchased a new suite for the front bedroom and decorated the house in preparation for the birth of their son Christopher in 1962.

Collapse and rebuilding
In 1965, the neighbours heard a crash coming from No.7 and rushed out of their homes to investigate. By this time, the house had been empty for a year and had been ignored by the landlord, Mr. Wormold. As a result, a faulty beam over the bay window had gone unchecked, and a slight weakness in the foundation caused the house to move a fraction. When the neighbours arrived at the scene, they discovered that the front wall of the house had collapsed, covering the front room and hallway with bricks and dust. The house was checked over by a Surveyor, who recommended that Wormold have the house shored up to support the roof and floors, preventing further movement, allaying the neighbours' fears that the rest of the row was at risk from collapse. Wormold hired Len Fairclough and Jerry Booth to the job right away, but he rejected their quote of nearly £300 for a new wall, window frames and a concrete foundation, and decided to cut his losses and have the rest of the house demolished instead. Len and Jerry carried out the work and within weeks, all that remained of No.7 was a wall connecting the adjoining houses.

Len kept a vested interest in No.7; 1967 he used his council connections to have a bench put in the space. Fourteen years later, Len bought the land and set about re-building the house. The new house was mostly the same as the old house in terms of dimensions, retaining the front/back downstairs rooms and bedrooms, with glass doors separating the two downstairs rooms, but had modern amenities including central heating. In May 1982, it was checked over by Building Inspector Frank Hurst, who passed the house except for the joists and cavities, which Len was made to replace. With Sharon Gaskell's help, he completed the new No.7 a month later. Len was so taken with the house that he was easily persuaded by Rita that they shouldn't sell it, as initially planned, but that they should live there themselves.

Modifications: The rebuilt house
Ten years later, Curly Watts bought No.7. Curly was interested in astronomy and had owned a telescope. With his own house, Curly could indulge himself and paid Neil Mitchell to carry out a loft conversion, turning the attic into an observatory. A skylight was fitted into the roof, the window was made able to open, and Curly bought a new telescope for the new room. His project disappointed his fiancée, Kimberley Taylor, who had assumed that he was installing a third bedroom. Kimberley thought the telescope a waste of money and dumped Curly for not putting their wedding plans first.

Curly also put in new windows, and decorated the back room in 1994 with Raquel Wolstenhulme's help.

Though renting No.7 from Blanche Hunt, Danny and Frankie Baldwin and family made a significant change to the downstairs rooms. The glass doors were removed, the space in the old front room was turned into a dining room, and both rooms were re-decorated.


 * The above changes were not mentioned within the narrative of the programme.

Further decorations to the downstairs rooms were carried out in 2008 and 2010.

Owners

 * 1902-? - Mabel Grimshaw Mistress of Sir Humphrey Swinton, Coronation Street's owner. Swinton died prior to the Street's completion and left everything to Mabel, who carried on his work. In 1904, she married Charles Hardcastle, owner of Hardcastle's Mill, adding all of the Street's houses to his empire.
 * ? - 1965 - Mr. Wormold Wormold owned the house at the time of the houses's collapse in 1965. Wormold contracted Fairclough and Booth to secure the house but balked at their quote of £300 and ordered the house be destroyed instead. The empty plot of land was later owned by Hardcastle's estate.
 * 1981-1983 - Len Fairclough Len bought the land in 1981 and built a new house in the space, planning to sell both it and No.9 and use the money for a deposit on a house in the country, but Rita made him see that the house was his labour of love and nobody would appreciate it as much as them.
 * 1983-1992 - Rita Fairclough Rita inherited the house after Len's death, but Len's name remained on the deeds. This enabled Alan Bradley, posing as Len in 1988, to remortgage the house with Castlewell Building Society, without Rita's knowledge.
 * 1992-2003 - Curly Watts Curly had been a tenant at No.7 along with Angie Freeman. Rita - now living at Flat 10a above the Kabin - decided to sell up and retire to Florida with Ted Sullivan and offered Curly first refusal. Ultimately, Rita and Ted stayed in Weatherfield but she went ahead with the deal anyway, and sold No.7 to Curly for £28,000.
 * 2003-2005 - Blanche Hunt Blanche Hunt, of No.1, bought No.7 as a home for her pregnant grand-daughter Tracy Barlow and her daughter. In 2005, she sold the house to pay for a hip operation.
 * 2005-2007 - Beaumont Estates Steve McDonald recommended this buyer to Blanche when she sought a quick sale. After two years, they put the house on the market and sold to Liam Connor.
 * 2007-2008 - Liam Connor Liam owned No.7 until his death in a hit-and-run. The house then passed to his wife, Maria.
 * 2008-2010 - Maria Connor Maria sold up in 2010 and moved into the salon flat.
 * 2010 to present - Dev Alahan Dev was persuaded to buy No.7 by Sunita after their reconciliation, as she preferred to live in Coronation Street than their house in the suburbs.

Residents

 * 1902-1918 - Harry Popplewell Warehouse storeman, husband of Clara and father to Emily and Herbert. Harry lied about his age to enlist during the war but drowned after falling overboard while crossing the channel on his way home.
 * 1902-1918 - Clara Popplewell Wife of Harry. Clara was a spinner at Hardcastle's Mill. After Harry's death, she left No.7 to live with her parents at Back Marriot Street.
 * 1902-1915 - Emily Popplewell Daughter of Harry and Clara. Emily trained as a nurse and helped the war effort by serving in a field hospital. There, she married and moved to a village near the Italian border.
 * 1902-1918 - Herbert Popplewell Son of Harry and Clara. Herbert was the only member of the family to return home from the war but was rendered deaf from the gunfire blasts. He left No.7 with his mother in 1918.
 * 1904-1904 - Ernest Popplewell Father of Harry. Ernest lived with the Popplewells until 1904, when he died during a game of dominoes in the Rovers.
 * 1919-1947 - Thomas Hewitt Formerly of 3 Coronation Street, Thomas moved into No.7 shortly after marrying Mary Makepiece. They had three children together. During the Depression, Thomas lost his job at Hardcastle's Mill and was sent to Strangeways for five months for stealing coats from Elliston's Raincoat Factory. In 1947, he died from a heart attack.
 * 1919-1936 - Mary Hewitt Wife of Thomas. Mary grew up at 11 Coronation Street. She lost her job at Elliston's factory when Thomas was caught stealing raincoats, and became resentful. In 1936, she had a psychotic episode in which she attacked her son Harry with a carving knife when he returned home drunk late one night. Mary was committed to a mental asylum, where she died not long afterwards.
 * 1920-1940, 1961 - Alice Hewitt Daughter of Thomas and Mary. In 1939, her wedding to Sam Burgess was interrupted by Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war against Germany. Sam signed up immediately and was killed at Dunkirk in 1940. Alice then left Weatherfield and moved to Stockport. Twenty-one years later, after finishing her duties as housekeeper for a former employer, Alice returned to No.7 to help her brother Harry with his daughter Lucille, but she quickly moved on as she and Lucille didn't get along.
 * 1921-1964 - Harry Hewitt Eldest son of Thomas and Mary. Harry worked as a clippie on the buses and in 1960 he was promoted to inspector. In 1959, his wife Lizzie was hit by a bus and killed. Harry - who spent most evening propping up the Rovers bar - felt that their daughter Lucille would be better placed in an orphanage until he found another mother for her, which he did in 1961 when he married barmaid Concepta Riley. Three years later, Harry arranged to take over Sean Riley's garage and the Hewitts, sans Lucille who moved in with Jack and Annie Walker at the Rovers, moved to Ireland.
 * 1922-1923 - Frances Hewitt Youngest son of Thomas and Mary. Frances died from scarlet fever in 1923.
 * 1948-1959 - Lizzie Hewitt Wife of Harry and mother of Lucille. A former clippie on the buses, Lizzie married Harry in 1948 and worked as a barmaid at the Rovers part-time after Lucille was born. She was killed in 1959 when a bus skidded into her.
 * 1949-1964 - Lucille Hewitt Daughter of Harry and Lizzie. In 1964, Lucille chose to remain in Weatherfield and finish her schooling instead of going with Harry, Concepta and her half-brother Christopher to Ireland. Jack and Annie Walker agreed to let her live with them.
 * 1961-1964 - Concepta Hewitt Harry's second wife. Concepta was a barmaid at the Rovers but she gave up work to look after Lucille when she married Harry in 1961. Concepta, Harry and their son Christopher moved to Ireland in 1964.
 * 1962-1964 - Christopher Hewitt Son of Harry and Concepta.
 * 1982-1983 - Len Fairclough Seventeen years after the house collapsed, Len rebuilt it and moved in from next door. Len died the following year when he fell asleep at the wheel of his car while driving on the motorway. He was returning from seeing his mistress, Marjorie Proctor.
 * 1982-1990 - Rita Fairclough Wife of Len. Rita continued at No.7 until she bought the new Coronation Street shop unit and transferred the Kabin there from its premises in Rosamund Street, and moved into the flat above.
 * 1982-1983, 1983-1984 - Sharon Gaskell Rita and Len's foster daughter. Sharon arrived with the Faircloughs and left when she got a job as a kennel maid in Sheffield. She also stayed at No.7 to support Rita after Len's death.
 * 1986, 1986-1989, 1990-1991 - Jenny Bradley Rita's foster daughter and daughter of Alan Bradley. Jenny moved in permanently when Alan took a three-month job in Dubai. She briefly moved out after falling out with Rita over Alan in 1989, but they made up and she returned after a few months. Jenny left for the last time in 1991, to live with married Robert Weston.
 * 1987-1988, 1988-1989 - Alan Bradley Rita's partner and Jenny's father. Alan moved out when Rita found out about his affair with Carole Burns but he returned with his tail between his legs when he realised it made greater financial sense to remain with Rita. To support his burgler alarm business, Alan remortaged No.7, telling the building society he was Len Fairclough. When Rita discovered what he'd done, she put the police onto him and he was charged with fraud.
 * 1990 - Flick Khan Jenny's friend from college. Flick stayed in France when she went there on holiday.
 * 1990 - Joanne Khan Flick's sister. Joanne's stay was supposed to be temporary but she fell for Steve McDonald and decided to stay longer. They ran off to the Lake District so they could stay together but they fell out and Joanne made her own way home. She then returned to her parents.
 * 1990-1993, 1997-1998 - Angie Freeman Fabric and textiles design student at Jenny's college. Angie remained at No.7 after Jenny left and lodged with Curly Watts when he bought the house. She left when he fell for her, as she didn't see him as a potential romantic partner. She lodged with Curly again from 1997 to 1998 when she swapped lodgings with Samantha Failsworth.
 * 1991-1996, 1997-2003 - Curly Watts Curly moved out of his lodgings at No.9 when Vera gave his room to Joss Shackleton. After a year, he bought No.7 from Rita. In 1996, Curly decided to leave Weatherfield and let the house to Samantha Failsworth, but at the last minute he changed his mind. After a few weeks, he got Samantha to agree to share the house with him but he was relegated to the back bedroom. He sold up and left for good in 2003.
 * 1992, 1995-1996 - Raquel Wolstenhulme An old girlfriend of Curly's. Raquel stayed at No.7 for a few days when there was a spider on the loose at the Rovers. In 1995, she married Curly and moved in permanently, but left after less than a year when she took a modelling job in Malaysia.
 * 1993-1994 - Andy McDonald Moved in after splitting up with Amy Nelson. He returned to University the following year.
 * 1994 - Steve McDonald Brother of Andy. Andy put him up on the sofa when he fell out with Jim but he soon took Des Barnes's spare room at No.6.
 * 1995 - Percy Sugden Emily Bishop's lodger lived at No.7 while Emily had his room redecorated at No.3.
 * 1996-1997 - Samantha Failsworth A barmaid at the Rovers, to whom Curly let the house when he decided to leave Weatherfield and go travelling in 1996. He returned after three days but Sam refused to let him move back in under the conditions of her rental agreement. She eventually gave him when he offered to cut her rent, but she insisted on keeping the front bedroom and having a lock on her door. She left to move in with Des at No.6.
 * 1998-1999 - Jackie Dobbs Ex-cellmate of Deirdre Rachid who squatted in No.7 with her son Tyrone while Curly was out of the country. Alma Baldwin, left with responsibility for the house, made Jackie the legal tenant as Curly had fallen behind with the mortgage repayments and the house faced repossession. When Curly returned, Jackie refused to give up the house and changed the locks. Curly found an unlikely ally in Les Battersby, who sold him a copy of the new keys when Jackie stole money from him, enabling Curly to let himself into the house. Curly and Jackie reached a stalemate which ended when Jackie's husband Darren appeared and made her back down and leave.
 * 1998-1999 - Tyrone Dobbs Son of Jackie.
 * 1999 - Kevin Webster Lodged with Curly when he returned to Coronation Street after having a breakdown. In July, he moved in with Alison Wakefield at 17a Victoria Street.
 * 1999 - Spider Nugent Spider and Toyah Battersby lodged at No.7 when Emily Bishop found out they were having sex and threw them out of No.3. After three weeks, Curly got fed up with them and told them to leave.
 * 1999 - Toyah Battersby Spider's girlfriend.
 * 2000-2003 - Emma Taylor Curly's policewoman girlfriend and eventual wife. In 2003, Emma landed a promotion to Inspector in Newcastle, and the Watts sold up.
 * 2001-2003 - Ben Watts Son of Curly and Emma.
 * 2004 - Tracy Barlow Tracy moved in on New Year's Day, shortly after Blanche Hunt bought the house for her in hope that she would decide to raise her unborn child there instead of handing her over to Roy and Hayley Cropper. Tracy went back on the deal with the Croppers and decided to raise her daughter Amy herself but Blanche let out No.7 while she was in Portsmouth, forcing her to return to No.1.
 * 2004 - Blanche Hunt Moved in when Deirdre Barlow threw her out of No.1. Five months later, she returned to No.1 and let the house to Danny Baldwin.
 * 2004 - Amy Barlow Daughter of Tracy Barlow and Steve McDonald.
 * 2004-2005 - Danny Baldwin Mike Baldwin's nephew, later revealed to be his son. Danny was thrown out of No.7 by Frankie when his affair with Jamie's girlfriend Leanne Battersby was discovered.
 * 2004-2006 - Frankie Baldwin Wife of Danny. Frankie planned to move to Spain with Jamie in 2006 but at the last minute she changed her mind and went to stay with a friend in Essex instead.
 * 2004-2007 - Jamie Baldwin Son of Danny and Carol Baldwin, and step-son of Frankie. In 2006, Jamie began a relationship with Frankie and remained at No.7 after it broke down, staying on as Liam Connor's lodger. In 2007, he moved into No.12 with Violet Wilson.
 * 2004-2005 - Warren Baldwin Son of Danny and Frankie. In 2005, he left Weatherfield to play for a Spanish football team.
 * 2006 - Nathan Cooper Frankie's boyfriend, who moved in at Frankie's invitation when she wanted to spite Danny. After a few weeks, Frankie realised she wasn't being fair to Nathan and broke up with him.
 * 2007-2008 Liam Connor The new Underworld factory boss, who arrived in Coronation Street in 2006. Liam lived there until his death in a hit-and-run orchestrated by Tony Gordon in 2008.
 * 2007-2009 Maria Sutherland Liam's girlfriend and later wife. Maria moved in when the couple got engaged. Maria left the Street to stay with Liam's parents in Ireland after discovering that Tony Gordon had arranged Liam's death.
 * 2008, 2009 - Ryan Connor Liam's nephew, and son of Michelle Connor. Ryan stayed at No.7 while Michelle got closer to Alex Neeson, when she discovered that the babies had been accidentally swapped at birth and Alex was her birth son. He also lived there for five months in 2009 when Maria offered him and Michelle lodgings after Michelle's split from Steve McDonald.
 * 2009 - Michelle Connor Sister of Liam. Maria offered Michelle and Ryan lodgings after Michelle's split from Steve McDonald. In June, Michelle and Ryan moved into 18a Victoria Street.
 * 2009 - Liam Connor Jr. Son of Maria and Liam, born in 2009 after Liam's death. Maria took baby Liam to Ireland with her when she moved out.
 * 2009 - Tony Gordon Husband of Carla Connor. Tony hired Jimmy Dockerson to kill Liam after discovering that Liam and Carla were having an affair. Tony felt sorry for Maria, as Liam's widow, and grew closer to her, which eventually blossomed into a romantic relationship and Tony playing a parental role to her son. After three months, Tony turned himself into the police and confessed to his role in Liam's murder.
 * 2009-2010 - Kirk Sutherland Maria's brother. Kirk lived alone at No.7 while Maria was in Ireland. He left when she sold the house to Dev Alahan.
 * 2010-2012 - Dev Alahan Owner of the Corner Shop. Dev was reluctant to buy No.7, deeming it a poky terrace, but agreed as he had just recently reconciled with ex-wife Sunita and respected her desire to live closer to her friends. In 2012, Dev found out that Sunita had been having an affair with Karl Munro and moved into the shop flat to give her time to come to her senses.
 * 2010-2012, 2012 to present - Sunita Alahan Ex-wife of Dev. In 2012, Sunita left Dev and stayed at the Rovers, telling Dev that her needs were always a low priority to him. She returned shortly thereafter, but they separated again when Dev found out about her affair with Karl Munro, which had been going on since since before she'd left him.
 * 2010 to present - Aadi Alahan Son of Dev and Sunita and twin brother of Asha.
 * 2010 to present - Asha Alahan Daughter of Dev and Sunita and twin sister of Aadi.
 * 2012 to present - Karl Munro Sunita's lover. Karl moved in with Stella Price threw him out of the Rovers.

Background information

 * No.7's interior first appeared in Episode 9 on 6th January 1961. The collapse of the house was in Episode 492 on 30th August 1965, just over a year after it was last lived in. Casting budget limitions led to a production decision to write out one of the houses (No.3 had also been empty since 1964 and would remain so until 1968). Splitting the terrace in this way had the advantage of making the studio set easier to erect.
 * The new house was seen for the first time in Episode 2210 (7th June 1982), the same episode on which the new outdoor set was first used for Street exterior scenes. No attempt was made to show the progress of the building of the house on the old Grape Street set. The house's interior was first seen in Episode 2224 (26th July 1982).
 * Episode 4745a (2nd January 2000), featuring Curly and Raquel Watts in the programme's first two-hander, was set entirely in No.7.