Rovers Return Inn - History of The Pub

History of The Pub

According to the fiction, the Rover's Return (with an apostrophe) was opened in 1902, on the newly built Coronation St (1902 being Coronation year for Edward VII, hence its name). It was originally to be called The Coronation, but the brewery was forced to change its name when the go-ahead had already been given for the street to be named Coronation Street. When Lieutenant Philip Ridley returned from active service in the Boer War, the pub was named in his honour. In 1918, to celebrate the return of the soldiers from World War I, the apostrophe was removed, thus making it The Rovers Return (plural+verb). When Coronation Street began in 1960, the signage of the pub read "The Rovers Return" but at some point was changed to read "Rovers Return Inn", without a "The".

Originally, the bar was divided into three separate bars; the public, the snug (usually inhabited by unaccompanied ladies where drinks were half a penny cheaper) and the select (where drinks were more expensive but were served by waitress service). As late as 1960, the ruling in the pub was that ladies were not allowed to remain at the bar after being served. These archaic rules were dropped in the early 1960s. When the fire gutted the pub in 1986, the three bars were knocked into one large modern bar.

The living quarters downstairs bear no resemblance to the exterior set of the pub. In reality, the living room (the "back room") would be in the middle of the street at the side of the pub, outside the Medical Centre. Since 1960 the toilet and cellar doors on the other side of the building would seem to enter into the Barlow's kitchen, next door at number one Coronation Street. There is also no obvious room for a commercial kitchen, despite the pub famously serving Betty's hotpot for several years.

Since mid 2008, viewers have seen scenes in a kitchen/dining room in the upstairs of the pub (for use by the licensee/residents), although no other characters had ever used or referred to this room previously. A mock-up of the Snug bar was a feature of the Granada Studios Tour.

The set's exterior doors are narrower than the doors on the interior set. This has always been the case as the exterior set is reduced in scale.

In January 2008, after 22 years with the same look since re-opening after the fire in 1986, the Rovers Return was redecorated. It received new wallpaper, re-upholstered seating, new flooring and new light fittings. A smoking shelter was built, which is accessed by a new door in the main pub area. This door has not been seen on screen.

Since that make over in January 2008, the wallpaper was changed again in October 2008, making its on screen debut 17 October 2008. The producers were not happy with the choice of wallpaper in January 2008. The new wallpaper is similar to the wallpaper used after the 1986 fire, which hung in the Rovers for 22 years.

The change of decor in January 2008 was a storyline in the show, where Liz McDonald's husband Vernon hired friends to redocorate. The new look of the Rovers in October 2008 was not explained in the story. A few weeks later, Emily Bishop commented to Jed Stone that the local pub had "recently" been redecorated.