Updated 24th September 2002
Emmerdale Farm - the classic
Rural Soap
(1972-1988)
All pictures on this page are thanks to Paul Berridge
|
Key Events from Emmerdale History 1972, 1973,
1974, 1976, 1977, 1978,
1979, 1980,
1981, 1982,
1983, 1984, 1985,
1986,
1987, 1988, |
Emmerdale
Farm - "the great British
soap." Set in the ficticious village of Beckindale, at the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, Emmerdale Farm began on the 16th October 1972. Nearly thirty years later and over 3,000 episodes on, this serial is still going strong. Since 1989, the series, has been known as Emmerdale. It is Britain's second longest running soap opera. The First Episode
of Emmerdale Farm was Broadcast on Monday 16 October 1972 in the Yorkshire region at lunchtime.Emmerdale Farm gradually moved to other regions.
Series Landmarks
From the 6 January 1988, ITV decided to network Emmerdale Farm in ALL regions twice a week. This was a turning point in the whole nature of the show and its future. Then airing Wednesdays & Thursday at 6:30pm - later Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm. Where is Beckindale?
|
WHO'S WHO - Your Guide to the characters & actors |
Where is Beckindale?
Arncliffe, North Yorkshire was the original location used for Beckindale in 1972. Beckindale was the ficticious village where the serial Emmerdale Farm was set.
|
| In 1993, when farmer Arthur Peel decided to retire from Lindley farm, it was no longer used for filming. In the storyline, Emmerdale land was diagnosed as suffering from subsidence, due to the opening up of old mineshafts. |  |
| Jack and Sarah Sugden moved to Hawthorn Cottage after the original Emmerdale farm was diagnosed as suffering from subsidence. Hawthorn Cottage itself was demolished in 1997 to give access to a quarry. After leaving Hawthorn, Jack bought Woodside Farm but he and Sarah decided it needed to much work doing on it and they sold it to the Cairns Family in 1998. The Sugden's later moved into Melby's Farm and renamed it Emmerdale. |
 |
 |
Outdoor filming for Emmerdale Farm took place in the village of Arncliffe, in Littondale from October 1972 till early 1976 It was moved after this due to villager complaints and also being too far from the Leeds studios. |
| For the next 22 years the outdoor filming was shot in the West Yorkshire Village of Esholt. |
The actual location used for Hotten was Otley, North Yorkshire.
Home Farm is actually Creskeld Hall, Bramhope, West Yorkshire.
| Creskeld Hall, the setting for Home Farm is only a couple of miles from the new outdoor set and is the only location to survive the show's entire run. |  |
| The Mill
|
Over the years The Mill has moved around the countryside
in the Emmerdale storyline. It
began as a derelict mill on Emmerdale Farm land, just across the river
from the farmhouse and Hawthorn Cottage, at which time Jack Sugden moved
in with the aim of converting it into living accommodation.
That never happened, and by the time his brother Joe and Phil Pearce began the conversion work in the 1980s, it had moved to the neighbouring village of Connelton and was called Colebrook Mill. When it featured in the storyline again, the mill returned to the outskirts of Beckindale and - by the time Chris and Rachel Tate moved in - became known as Mill cottage.While planning the building of the Harewood outdoor set,designer Mike Long moved it closer to the village and called it The Mill, a name befitting to its elegance and history. |
