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Rainham couple find Ferguson television set dating back to Queen's Coronation in 1953

05:00, 04 November 2021

updated: 13:31, 04 November 2021

In 1953, millions of viewers gathered around newly-purchased televisions to watch the Queen's Coronation.

Almost 70 years later, one of those TV sets has been discovered in an attic in Medway.

Amy Lockwood and her partner Jamie Jenkins found the 1953 TV in their loft after buying a house in Rainham
Amy Lockwood and her partner Jamie Jenkins found the 1953 TV in their loft after buying a house in Rainham

Couple Amy Lockwood and Jamie Jenkins found the dusty Ferguson 992T in the loft of the home they are preparing to move into in Winchester Way, Rainham.

Amy, 29, said: "We bought the house in August but we haven't moved in yet – we are renovating before we do.

"We were putting some stuff up in the loft when Jamie started snooping around. That's when he found the TV set."

Amy, who is currently living with her parents in Walderslade, did a bit of research and discovered the TV dated back to 1953.

She posted a picture online in the hope of finding out some more information and received more than 100 messages, some from people who remember watching the Queen's Coronation on a similar TV.

Amy Lockwood and her partner Jamie Jenkins found the 1953 TV in their loft after buying a house in Rainham
Amy Lockwood and her partner Jamie Jenkins found the 1953 TV in their loft after buying a house in Rainham

One woman commented: "Our neighbours had the same model. What road are you in? I would love to know if it's the TV that I watched the coronation on!"

Another said: "Bet that was bought for the coronation. Social history brought to life."

Amy is now hoping to donate the TV to a museum or organisation where it will be used for educational purposes or to provide a bit of nostalgia.

She has contacted the Kent Life visitor attraction in Maidstone and is also considering giving it to a theatre for a stage prop or a care home for dementia patients.

She said: "From what I have seen it is not worth a lot of money but I don't want to sell it. I want it to go somewhere where people can enjoy it.

The Queen's Coronation was watched by millions on television
The Queen's Coronation was watched by millions on television

"A lot of people have said it was probably bought for the coronation so it is a bit of history."

The Queen's Coronation in June 1953 was the first service to be televised and for most people, it was the first time they had watched an event on television.

In the UK, nearly eight million people tuned in at home, while 10 million crowded into other people's houses to watch. There were a further 1.5 million viewers in cinemas, halls and pubs.

Sales of TV sets in the UK rose sharply in the weeks leading up to the event and the number of TV licences shot up from 763,000 in 1951 to 3.2 million in 1954.

The Ferguson 992T would have cost around 60 guineas – just over £60.

A 1953 advert by Thanet Electronics describes the 12, 14 and 17-inch Fergusons as "big screen televisions" and says: "For best viewing in this area we recommend Ferguson."

A 14-inch, like the one Amy has found, would have cost 66 guineas from the shop in Northdown Road, Margate.

Another advert lists the 992T for 59 guineas and says the "handsome and table model" offers "bright well-defined pictures".

Viewers would have watched programmes such as In the News, a fortnightly discussion on current affairs, a quiz show called Animal, Vegetable, Mineral and About the Home, a daytime broadcast for women.

The discovery comes after another Medway resident, Gillian Mardel, found an old newspaper cutting from September 1973 featuring the Weddings Album under the floorboards of her mum's home in Gillingham.

Have you found anything interesting in your loft? Contact KentOnline's sister publication the Medway Messenger by emailing medway@thekmgroup.co.uk

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