Front door of No.1 in 2013
1 Coronation Street is the first house going east in Coronation Street and is located between the Rovers Return Inn and 3 Coronation Street.
For most of the time since its construction in 1902, No.1 has been the domain of Albert Tatlock or Ken Barlow. Albert moved in along with his wife Bessie after World War I in 1919 and stayed there until his death in 1984, aged 88. Ken was the husband of Albert's late niece Valerie, and kept Albert company at No.1 during Albert's old age. Albert came to look upon Ken as a son and sold the house to him in 1983, by which time Ken's wife Deirdre and daughter Tracy were living there.
With one brief exception, No.1 has been the Barlow family home since Albert's death. For most of that time, it has been owned by Ken and inhabited by Ken and Deirdre, with the various members of their extended family coming and going, including Tracy, Peter, Susan, Amy and Adam Barlow, Blanche Hunt, Samir Rachid, and Denise and Daniel Osbourne.
The only time it was not in the Barlow name was a period between 1994 and 1995 after Deirdre sold up to Mike Baldwin. During that time, Mike rented No.1 to Tricia and Jamie Armstrong. Mike sold the house to Ken, who has owned it since then. The current residents are Ken, Steve, Tracy and their daughter Amy.
History
Construction
House exterior in 2013
1 Coronation Street was built over a two-year period along with the rest of Coronation Street and Mawdsley Street, beginning in 1900. The house's original configuration was a front parlour, hallway/stairs, kitchen and scullery on the ground floor, a landing and three bedrooms on the upper floor, and an outside lavatory and coal hole in the back yard. No.1 shared its layout with Nos. 5, 9 and 13 in having its staircase to the right of the rooms (the other houses in the street were mirror images).
On 9th August 1902, the Grimshaws, the first family to live in Coronation Street, moved into No.1.
Modifications
In 1960, 1 Coronation Street was a house befitting the elderly couple who lived there. The scullery had been converted into a kitchen and the back room turned into a dining room, but the decor was old-fashioned, with Albert Tatlock retaining Dinky Low's sideboard which was given to him when he moved into the house in 1919, and a monolithic mantlepiece - the room's central feature - looming over the table. Albert was happy with No.1 the way it was and, particularly after wife Bessie's death, made few changes to the house.
One thing which did interest Albert was gardening. In 1964, he planned to turn No.1's yard into a garden and got Stan Ogden to help him lift the flagstones. They uncovered a bomb, dropped there during the Manchester Blitz, which was defused by the army. Albert gave up his plans for a garden and got an allotment instead.
When Albert had to share his house with someone, their opinions about its decor were rarely flattering. In 1969, Albert's housekeeper Effie Spicer decorated the house as a surprise for him, resulting in Albert throwing her out. Susan Barlow found No.1 depressing, causing Bet Lynch to offer to decorate it for Albert, although he said he'd do it himself. Ken Barlow too hated the antique look of the house and in 1973 decorated the downstairs rooms and put in a new cooker. Jerry Booth installed the cooker but didn't seal the pipe properly, which resulted in Albert being gassed and hospitalised.
In 1981, the front parlour was converted into a bedroom for Albert as Ken and Deirdre Barlow had just married and decided to live at No.1 with Deirdre's daughter Tracy Langton. Bert Tilsley decorated the house at the same time, but got into trouble with the DOS in doing so as he had been paid £30 for the job while claiming dole. Two years later, the Barlows bought the house and modernised the kitchen, and decorated the back room again in 1984; they had cancelled their plans to buy a house in Buxton Close to buy No.1 and Deirdre was determined not to live in a "museum" of a house.
2011: Becky McDonald wrecks havoc with a sledgehammer
Further decorations took place in the kitchen in 1990 - after it was gutted by a chip pan fire inadvertently caused by Tracy - the back room in 1995, 1996 and 2004, and the front room in 2009. In 2011, Becky McDonald smashed her way into No.1 with a sledgehammer in an attempt to get to Tracy and kill her for contacting Social Services over her and Steve McDonald paying Kylie Turner to leave Becky's nephew Max Turner in their care. Becky smashed the front door and the table and chairs before Steve told her that he was the one who told Social Services, causing her to back down.
Furniture-wise, the back room has kept the same layout consisting of the mantelpiece with table and chairs, and a sofa parallel to the door to the hall, and, of course, Albert's old sideboard.
List of owners and residents
Owners
- 1902-1947- Mabel Grimshaw
A local landowner who inherited Coronation Street when the previous owner, Sir Humphrey Swinton, died before completion of the new street. Mabel carried on Swinton's work and became the first owner of the houses. In 1904, she married Charles Hardcastle, owner of Hardcastle's Mill, adding all of the properties in Coronation Street to his empire. - 1947- Mr Wormold
Property owner and landlord of several of the houses in Coronation Street. - ? - 1983 - Albert Tatlock
A resident of No.1 since 1919, Albert purchased the house sometime in the 1970s. - 1983-1990 - Ken and Deirdre Barlow
Ken and Deirdre planned to buy a house in Buxton Close and leave No.1, taking Albert with them. Albert offered to leave the house to Ken in his will but Ken refused as it would upset Albert's daughter Beattie Pearson. Eventually the pair agreed for Ken to buy it from Albert and for Albert and the Barlows to go on living there. In 1988, Ken mortgaged No.1 to buy the Weatherfield Recorder. When Ken and Deirdre separated, Deirdre was legally advised that she owned half of the Recorder and forced Ken to sell it to pay off No.1's mortgage, after which the house became legally hers. - 1990-1994 - Deirdre Barlow
In 1990, Newton & Ridley offered to buy No.1 for £35,000, in a plot to extend the Rovers Return. Deirdre accepted but the brewery pulled out of the deal before it was legally binding. Four years later, Deirdre married Samir Rachid and moved to Samir's home country Morocco, and sold the house to Mike Baldwin.
Mike Baldwin bought No.1 as a favour to Deirdre, and promised to give her any profits he made from the house
- 1994-1995 - Mike Baldwin
Mike bought No.1 intending to sell it but rented it out instead. After seven months, he sold it to Ken Barlow. - 1995 to present - Ken Barlow
Ken bought back No.1 after reconciling with Denise Osbourne, mother of his young son Daniel, and the three lived there for a short time until Ken found out about Denise's affair with Brian Dunkley. After Denise won custody of Daniel, Ken continued living at No.1 alone until his reconciliation with ex-wife Deirdre and the pair re-married in 2005. He has owned it ever since.
Residents
- 1902-1906 - Percy Grimshaw
The Grimshaws, a family of mine workers, moved into No.1 on 9th August 1902. Percy died from TB in 1906. - 1902-1907 - Aggie Grimshaw
Wife of Daniel. After the deaths of her husband and son, Aggie was evicted for non-payment of her rent. - 1902-1906 - Daniel Grimshaw
Son of Daniel and Aggie. Daniel was killed in the Weatherfield Main pit disaster in 1906. - 1907-1915 - Thomas Osbourne
Thomas and wife Mary lived at Mary's parents' house before being given the tenancy of No.1. Thomas worked at a tailoring factory. In 1915, Thomas moved the family to his family home in Manchester. - 1907-1915 - Mary Osbourne
Wife of Thomas, and one of the many Street residents employed at Hardcastle's Mill. - 1914-1915, 1921-1923 - Alfred Tatlock
Mary's nephew. After the deaths of Alfred's parents, the Osbournes took Alfred in at No.1. Alfred also lived there for two years as his older brother Albert and wife Bessie's lodger, moving out in 1923 to take the post of junior station manager on the Liverpool Road Line. - 1915-1916 - Alfie Marsh
A foreman at Hardcastle's Mill who moved into No.1 with his wife Mo in 1915. Alfie was a bigamist and a bully, who deserted his unsuspecting wife by running off with Rovers barmaid Sarah Bridges. - 1915-1916 - Mo Marsh
Wife of Alfie, who moved into No.1 some days after Alfie as he hadn't told her he'd moved. When she found out her marriage to Alfie wasn't legal, Mo feared arrest and threw herself into the canal. - 1917-1918 - Dinky Low
Dinky was granted special leave to marry his childhood sweetheart Madge in 1917. They had one night together in their new house before Dinky returned to the front lines. He returned to Weatherfield a widower in 1918 and then left for a new life in London. - 1917-1918 - Madge Low
Wife of Dinky. Their baby was conceived on their wedding night. Madge died from internal bleeding three days after giving birth to their stillborn baby.
Albert Tatlock, the house's longest-standing resident
- 1919-1961, 1962-1968, 1969-1984 - Albert Tatlock
No.1's longest-standing resident. Albert moved into the house with his wife Bessie in 1919 and their daughter Beattie was born in 1933. Albert held down several jobs while at No.1, most notably with the Town Hall as a clerk from 1939 to 1960. He briefly moved out of No.1 to take the post of resident caretaker at the Glad Tidings Mission Hall but returned when he decided he didn't like the job. He also moved out in 1968 to take the post of live-in at the Fusiliers' Museum in Bury, returning the following July. In his last three years at No.1, Albert slept in the parlour. He died in 1984. - 1919-1959 - Bessie Tatlock
Wife of Albert and mother of Beattie. Bessie was a mill worker and became a close friend to Ida Barlow. She died in her sleep in 1959. - 1921-1923 - Edna Tatlock
Formerly Ellis, a live-in barmaid at the Rovers, Edna married Alfred Tatlock in 1921 and moved into No.1, where he'd been living for some months. Their daughter Joyce was born in 1923. Edna died from scarlet fever two months after Joyce passed away from the same condition. - 1923 - Joyce Tatlock
Daughter of Alfred and Edna. Less than a year after being born, Joyce died from scarlet fever. - 1933-1953 - Beattie Tatlock
Daughter of Albert and Bessie. Beattie never shared her parents' attachment to Coronation Street and in 1953 she married Norman Pearson, moved to Oakhill and rarely visited. - 1961, 1962 - Valerie Tatlock
Daughter of Alfred, and Albert's niece. Valerie moved in with Albert when Alfred and Val's mother Edith moved to Glasgow. After three months, she left to look after a sick Alfred but stayed No.1 again for a short time in 1962 when she was preparing to marry Ken Barlow. - 1965 - David Barlow
Brother of Ken, David lodged with Albert when he returned to Weatherfield and before marrying Irma Ogden. - 1965 - Ted Bates
An old friend of Albert's, who stayed at No.1 for a few weeks when he ran away from his OAP home. - 1969 - Effie Spicer
Kept house for Albert Tatlock when he was living in Bury in early 1969. - 1969 - Alice Pickins
Took over from Effie at No.1 during Albert's absence. Albert was wary of Alice as she fancied him. They planned to marry but when it was called off, Alice left. - 1970-1971 - Minnie Caldwell
Albert took Minnie in for a few weeks as she was afraid to live alone after Joe Donelli shot himself in her house. - 1971 - Handel Gartside
Stayed briefly as a guest of Minnie's. - 1972-1974, 1976-1990, 1995-2013, 2014-present- Ken Barlow
No.1 was Ken's fourth address in Coronation Street. He first moved into the house when he gave up No.3 to live with Albert. During his marriage to Janet Reid, Ken rented No.11. He returned to No.1 in 1976, and in the 1980s it became the Barlow family home as Albert sold Ken the house. When the Barlows separated in 1990, Deirdre threw Ken out. He moved back when he bought No.1 from Mike Baldwin and he has lived there ever since.
- 1973-1974 - Janet Barlow
Ken's second wife moved into No.1 after they married in Scotland. Early in 1974, they left to rent No.11. Three years later, Janet died in Ken's bed after taking an overdose when he allowed her to stay at No.1 for one night. - 1978, 2000-2001, 2007, 2008, 2010-2011, 2014, 2016-2017, 2018 to present - Peter Barlow
Ken's son. Peter briefly stayed at No.1 when Ken tried to make him stay in Weatherfield and re-sit his exams, instead of returning to Glasgow and getting a job. In 2000, Peter left the Navy and returned to Weatherfield. He stayed at No.1 for a few days before moving into the Corner Shop flat. Peter flitted between Weatherfield and Portsmouth in 2007 and 2008, returning to Weatherfield permanently when his estranged wife Lucy died and left him with custody of their son Simon. After a few days at No.1, Peter bought Skinner's Bookies on Rosamund Street and moved into the flat above. Two years later, Ken put Peter, Leanne and Simon up for a few weeks in No.1's front parlour while Peter was confined to a wheelchair due to an injury sustained in the December 2010 tram crash. They moved back into their flat in January 2011, by which time Peter was on crutches. Upon separating from his wife Carla during June 2014, Peter moved back in. - 1981-1994, 1999-2015 - Deirdre Barlow
Wife of Ken. Deirdre and Tracy moved in when Deirdre married Ken. Deirdre kept No.1 when she separated from Ken and became the sole owner. She remained at the house until 1994, when she married Samir Rachid and moved to his native Morocco. Five years later, Deirdre and Ken reconciled and she moved back in. Deirdre left to stay with best friend Bev Unwin in October 2014 for a few months when the Barlow family's dramas became too much for her. She passed away in July 2015 of a brain aneurysm, just before she was due to return home. - 1981-1993, 1999, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2006, 2007, 2010-2012, 2012-2018, 2020 to present - Tracy Langton
Daughter of Deirdre and Ray Langton. Ken adopted Tracy in 1986 and she became a Barlow. Staying with Deirdre after her divorce from Ken, Tracy moved out in 1993 to live with her boyfriend Craig Lee. She has left and returned many times; in 1999, she left her husband Robert Preston but returned after a few days. In 2002, she returned to No.1, proclaiming to be back for good. She had a spell living with Dev Alahan in 2003 and the following year she lived at No.7 when Blanche bought it for her, only to let out to Danny Baldwin while she was on holiday. Tracy moved out again to live with Charlie Stubbs in 2006, returning again the next year while awaiting trial for Charlie's murder. Tracy was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years but her conviction was overturned in 2010 and she returned to No.1, staying until her marriage to Steve McDonald in 2012. When it was revealed that Tracy had lied to everyone about her miscarriage, claiming that Becky McDonald had pushed her down the stairs and caused her to lose the babies, Ken refused to let Tracy remain at No.1, but he backed down some months later when she was recovering from a problem with her kidney. - 1985-1986 - Susan Barlow
Daughter of Ken. Susan gave up a job in Newcastle to return to Weatherfield and stayed at No.1 until she married Mike Baldwin, against Ken's wishes. - 1993 - Craig Lee
Tracy's guitar-playing boyfriend. Deirdre took him in so that Tracy wouldn't move out, but by Christmas they were sick of her rules and both left. - 1994 - Samir Rachid
Deirdre's third husband, and a Moroccan national. Deirdre and Samir sold up and moved to Morocco in 1994. - 1995 - Tricia Armstrong
A tenant of Mike Baldwin's when he bought No.1 from Deirdre. Mike decided to sell up almost right away, but Tricia only agreed to leave when Mike offered her alternative lodgings at his Crimea Street flats. - 1995 - Jamie Armstrong
Son of Tricia.
Ken with Denise and Daniel Osbourne. Ken re-bought No.1 for his new family but Denise got bored and ran off with Brian Dunkley, returning for Daniel months later
- 1995-1996 - Denise Osbourne
Mother of Ken's son Daniel. Denise tried make a go of it with Ken and Daniel at No.1 but her relationship with her brother-in-law Brian Dunkley caused Ken to throw her out. - 1995-1996 - Daniel Osbourne
Ken and Denise's son. Denise left Daniel with Ken when she left but when she returned later in the year, she lied to the courts that they had always agreed that she would come back and take custody of him. Ken was forced to settle with her out of court and Daniel left to live with Denise. - 1996 - Kelly Thomson
Daniel's live-in nanny. Kelly moved to Scotland with the Osbournes when Denise was granted custody of Daniel so that he would have continuity of care.
- 1999-2004, 2004-2009, 2009-2010 - Blanche Hunt
Deirdre's acerbic mother. Blanche moved into No.1 in 1999, giving Ken and Deirdre little choice in the matter. For the duration of her stay, Blanche's bedroom was in the front room. In 2004, Blanche bought No.7 as a home for Tracy and her daughter, but let it out to Danny Baldwin and family instead after six months and returned to No.1. She briefly left the house again in 2009, this time in disgust when Deirdre and Ken made up after Ken's affair with Martha Fraser, but she had to return after a few days as she couldn't manage the stairs at 9a Rosamund Street. She passed away in 2010, during an extended stay in Portugal. - 2004-2006, 2007, 2011-2012, 2012-2018, 2020 to present - Amy Barlow
Daughter of Tracy and Steve McDonald. In 2011, Tracy used her knowledge of Steve and Becky McDonald illegally buying Becky's nephew Max Turner from her sister Kylie to blackmail Steve into letting her have Amy full-time. - 2005 - Ray Langton
Deirdre's ex-husband and Tracy's biological father. Ray lived at No.1 for the last two weeks of his life, after Emily Bishop became too exhausted to look after him at No.3, as he was ill with stomach cancer. Ray passed away during Ken and Deirdre's wedding reception in the Rovers. - 2006-2007 - Adam Barlow
Susan and Mike Baldwin's son, and Ken's grandson. Adam lived with the Barlows after Mike's death. After selling his Underworld shares to Liam Connor, Adam mostly lazed around the house. He left in 2007 to help Peter run a bookies in Portsmouth. - 2008, 2010-2011, 2018-2020 - Simon Barlow
Son of Peter and Lucy. Peter got custody of Simon after Lucy's death. Soon after arriving in Weatherfield, Peter and Simon moved into Flat 9a Rosamund Street. - 2010-2011 - Leanne Barlow
Wife of Peter. Leanne, Peter and Simon spent a short time living at No.1 while Peter was in a wheelchair and couldn't manage the stairs at the flat. - 2011 - James Cunningham
Ken's grandson, whose existence Ken knew nothing of until 2010. Ken readily agreed to put James up while he was working with a local charity, not realising that the charity was a con and James was in on it. James later took out a £50,000 mortgage against No.1 in Ken's name, but Ken found out and ripped up the cheque. Before Ken could take matters further, James knocked him out and fled. - 2014 - Rob Donovan
Tracy's boyfriend. He moved out of his flat in Victoria Court so that the couple could save money. - 2015 - Brian Packham
Ken's friend and former school colleague. Brian moved in when he planned a reconciliation with former girlfriend Julie Carp. - 2015 - Robert Preston
Tracy's ex-husband. The pair reconciled and Robert moved into No.1. Although he intended to propose to Tracy on Christmas Day, Robert learned that she had been visiting Rob Donovan at Highfield Prison, with a promise of resuming their relationship. A devastated Robert then moved out of the house. - 2019-2020 - Claudia Colby
Ken's partner. Claudia moved in, despite having only recently bought a luxury flat within Redbank Apartments. In February 2020, Ken and Claudia decided to sell the house in order to move into a retirement village. - 2020 to present - Steve McDonald.
Background information
The front bedroom as seen in Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories
- 1 Coronation Street's interior was first seen in Episode 1 (9th December 1960).
- The layout of No.1, and its position relative to the Rovers Return, doesn't seem to leave room for the Rovers toilets and stairs to the cellar. Producer Bill Podmore commented on this in his 1990 memoirs Coronation Street: The Inside Story, joking that the toilets were in No.1's kitchen, and that it was prime cause of Albert Tatlock's grumpiness.
- In some of its early appearances, No.1's hallway was laid out with the staircase on the wrong side. Episodes 955 and 1126 are examples.
- As with the other houses in the Street, the ownership of No.1 is riddled with contradictions. This article lists 1973 as the last year No.1 was confirmed to have Mr Wormold as landlord, as he put the rent up that year. In Episode 1518 (4th August 1975), Albert refers to No.1 as his property, although no on-screen change of ownership took place between those years.
- In 1981, Ken rented a garage in Viaduct Street for his Volkswagen, as Albert refused to have a German car outside his house. This is one of the few references to where the Coronation Street residents put their cars when not driving them.
- Episode 6519 (25th March 2007), the programme's second (and so far last) Two-hander, was set entirely within No.1 and its back yard. Deirdre and Tracy Barlow were the characters featured. The online Spin-off Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories also centred on No.1, in this case the front bedroom.