Ena Sharples(Nee Schofield)[1] was a character in Coronation Street from the first episode in December 1960 to Ep 1983 - 2 Apr 1980, although she appeared less often from 1974 to 1980. She was the formidable battleaxe of the show in the 1960s and in the early years she was great friends with Minnie Caldwell and Martha Longhurst. Ena was once one of the main characters in the show until 1974 when she begun to spend more and more time away from Weatherfield due to the actress Violet Carson's failing health. Violet played her until 1980.
Ena Schofield was born on the 14th November 1899 in Weatherfield. She was the daughter of Thomas Schofield and Mary Schofield. She was the youngest of 3 siblings. In 1904, aged 5 she posed in a class photo at Bessie Street School. One of Ena's old schoolfriends was Dora Braithwaite, who left Weatherfield in June 1914, 2 months before WW1 started.
In 1920 she married Alfred Sharples. In 1921 she had a daughter Vera Sharples, and a daughter Madge Sharples in 1924 and a son Ian Sharples who died as a baby. In 1937 Alfred died.
1960-1974
Ena was around 70 years old in 1960 (This was later altered by the writers to her being early 60s, probably to fit her in with the actress' age). Ena was Elsie Tanner's landlady, and often she loved to lord it over her rival Elsie. In 1961, Elsie accused Ena of sending a poison pen letter. Ena denied it, saying if she had sent it she'd have signed it.
In February 1974, Ena left to stay in St Anne's for an extended period.
1974-1980
Ena's last episode.
Ena Sharples returned to Weatherfield in December 1974, just before Christmas. As she aged, she began to spend more and more time away from Coronation Street, and more time staying with old friend Henry Foster in St Anne's. Ena still resided in the Community Centre whenever she did come back to Coronation Street. 1976 saw one of her great friends Minnie Caldwell leave Coronation Street to move to Derbyshire. One of Ena's other close friends Martha Longhurst had died 12 years before, and now Minnie was living away from Coronation Street. In July 1977 a local councillor, Jim Tattersall, tried to oust Ena from the community centre but Alf and Len found out that he wanted his niece to have the job. Alf, Len and Ernie rallied around Ena and saw Tattersall off.
In August 1977 Ena left the street to stay in Hartlepool and did not return until March 1978. Fellow residents used to rally round this once hairnetted horror, seeing her as a vulnerable old woman. She felt like she had no friends left. She grew weaker and more tired and she would spend months away living in St Annes. She returned again in February 1980. In April 1980 Ena left Coronation Street yet again, saying she would decide if she was to come back. However she never returned to Coronation Street or Weatherfield. She was 80.
Life after leaving Coronation Street in 1980
It is not known exactly what happened to Ena once she left Coronation Street. The best info is that Ena died in 1983, see below.
In Ep 2997 - 27 Nov 1989 it was confirmed that she had died as when the factory, Baldwin's Casuals, Coronation Street was being demolished Deirdre Barlow said Ena Sharples would turn in her grave at that side of the street being redeveloped yet again. Deirdre may have heard that Ena had died, or she may have assumed she had died by then but was not sure. Ena would have been 90 by 1989 if she had lived.
In the 1985 spin-off video The Jubilee Years Ken revealed that Ena had passed away a "couple of years ago". This would place her death around 1983, the same year that Violet Carson passed away. Spin off videos probably are seen as canon as it would be pointless making them if they were not canonical. Only spoofs or songs are not seen as canon. This spin off video is the best reference to when Ena died.
Shortly after the tram crash in December 2010, Ken Barlow reminisced about life on Coronation Street to his grandson Simon and mentioned Ena Sharples to him, and revealed that she had "long since died".
Behind the Scenes
The last known time Violet Carson was in costume as Ena Sharples. The photograph was featured on the cover of a TV Times special to commemorate 2000 episodes of Coronation Street. This was released two months after her final appearance on the show.
In 1960, Ena was supposed to be around 70 years of age, and in an early episode she said she was the street's oldest resident. This would make her older than Albert Tatlock who was 65 in 1960. If Ena was about 70 in 1960, she'd have been born around 1890. However in 1966 she said she was 67, thus making her born in 1899. Her age was probably altered to make her the same age as actress Violet Carson who was born in 1898.
Violet Carson became more recurring from 1974 onwards due to ill health and eventually made her final appearance in the programme in April 1980. This wasn't actually intended to be her final appearance, but ill health meant she couldn't reprise the role for future appearances. The last known time she donned the costume of Ena Sharples was in June 1980, when she appeared on a cover for a TV Times Special titled Coronation Street 2000 to celebrate the show's 2000 episodes, and appeared alongside with the remaining original characters Ken Barlow, Albert Tatlock and Elsie Tanner.
Older photos of Violet Carson pre-Coronation Street was used for the book Weatherfield Life, which provided a backstory to Coronation Street and gave a fictional history spanning from 1902 to 1992 (the year the book was released).
Memorable info
Appearances: 9 December 1960–27 February 1974, 18 December 1974–10 August 1977, 27 March–27 December 1978, 5 March 1979–2 April 1980
Born: 14th November 1899, Weatherfield, Salford, Lancashire
