What are the UK’s most famous fictional streets?*

Watching TV has become a key part of almost every one’s life with us helplessly getting invested into our favourite soaps and movies every night. Character’s like Harry Potter have become a household name and we know the movies inside and out, even knowing what street he lives on! Here we look at some of the UK’s most famous fictional streets and what makes them so special to us.

Credit

Baker Street
221b Baker Street is home to the nation’s favourite detective, Sherlock Holmes. 221b is the house in which Holmes lived and worked; positioned between 271 and 241 it can be a tricky find. Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes has become one of the most influential literary characters in British culture.

Today, the address functions as a museum, which is open every day from 9:30am to 18:00pm and costs adults £15 and children under 16 £10. You’ll be able to explore the home Sherlock shared with his main companion, Dr Watson — including the sitting room, the laboratory, the iconic study and more.

You may be surprised to read that when the stories were first published, though the street itself wasn’t fictional, the address ‘221b Baker Street’ certainly was as the addresses in Baker Street did not go as high as 221 — but this was soon extended. The Abbey National Building Society occupied the addresses 219-229 from 1931 and had to employ a full-time secretary to answer mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes! There was a 15-year dispute on who should receive the letters though, the building society or the museum.

Cherry Tree Lane
If you’ve recently visited the cinema to see Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns, then you’ll be more familiar with this classic. Cherry Tree Lane was first introduced in 1934, when the first book of P.L Tavers’ Mary Poppins series was released. The street was home to the banks family who lived at number 17.

There has been a number of remarkable and magical events that have occurred on this street, and of course Mary Poppins initial landing is one of them. What else makes this location supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is that it’s also home to Admiral Boom and Mr. Binnacle, who were once members of England’s navy and keep their house in ‘shipshape’ — with an actual ship on the roof which fires a cannon twice a day! As well as this, there is countless chimney sweepers and path illustrators!

Although there is no specific location for where Cherry Tree Lane could be, it’s thought that Travers based her vision off townhouses in Kensington or her own home on Smith Street in Chelsea — which now has an English Heritage plaque outside.

Coronation Street
Situated in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Salford, Coronation Street has been in the hearts of British viewers since 1960 when ITV first aired the show. Produced by Tony Warren, the street is thought to have been built in 1902 and is made up of a row of seven terraced houses and the iconic Rovers Return Inn at one end with the corner shop being at the other.

The show itself has been home to many dramas and is the longest-running soap opera in the world. Because of its popularity, writers had to introduce new characters and locations over the years to create a more representative environment for viewers at home to relate with. Today, you’ll still find the iconic Rovers Return Inn and D&S Alahan’s corner shop, but also be introduced to The Kabin newsagents, Roy’s Rolls café, and lingerie-making business Underworld as well as other communal areas.

There are quite a few storylines you’ll remember from this show, from the ‘Free the Weatherfield One’ campaign where Deirdre Rachid was given an 18-month sentence for a crime she didn’t commit to Hayley Cropper née Harold Patterson becoming the first transgender character on the show. There’re a lot of storylines that made a significant impact on the British public that still live on almost 60 years later.

You can walk down the famous cobbles yourself with an outdoor street tour, that take place on the weekends. Located at MediaCityUK in Manchester, the 80-minute tour also includes the set of Rosamund Street and the never-before-seen Victoria Street.

Credit

Privet Drive
Number 4 Privet Drive was first introduced in the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone written by J.K Rowling. The house was home to the Dursley family and young Harry Potter.

In 1981, this perfectly normal street became slightly more interesting as Vernon and Petunia’s nephew, Harry James Potter, was left on their doorstep by one of the greatest wizards of all time, Albus Dumbledore, after his parents were tragically murdered by the Dark Lord himself, Lord Voldemort.

The suburban street consists of ‘boxy’ houses with gardens at the front and back — each quite identical in design. The name of the street came from a privet bush, which is a hedge that isolates houses as Rowling herself thought this linked quite well as the Dursley’s had a desire to segregate themselves from the Wizarding World — despite having strong family ties.

Today, you can visit the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London to see the film set in real life. Sometimes, the interior is open to the public so make sure you check ahead of visiting, although we know you’ll be just as pleased posing next to the vintage street sign. The actual home that was used in the first film recently made headlines after being put on the market for almost £500,000!

There’s a lot of fictional streets here in the UK. Which ones are your favourite?