Esther Hayes Esther Hayes was a resident of 5 Coronation Street from 1924 to 1962 . The house had been in the Hayes family since 1910 , but for her last ten years in Coronation Street , Esther lived there alone . Esther worked at Weatherfield Town Hall and never married . She left the Street to move into a luxury flat in Moor Lane , and in 1963 she left Weatherfield and moved to Glasgow . Biography . 1924 - 1960 . Esther Hayes was born in Weatherfield on 10th May 1924 , the daughter of GPO clerk and lay preacher Sidney Hayes and wife Alice . Her family had already seen a lot of action in Coronation Street since they moved into No . 5 in 1910 ; Sid was a conscientious objector during the war and spent most of its duration in prison , causing the family to be ostracised by the community for years afterwards . Esther had two older siblings : Ada , who left full - time work to train as a teacher and later taught Esther , and Fred , who tragically died of diphtheria in 1916 aged one . She also had a little brother , Tom , who was born in 1926 . In 1939 , Esther left school and got a job as a waitress at the Galaxy restaurant and the following year started at the Town Hall as a clerk . Ada went to Blackpool to help care for children evacuated due to Britain entering the Second World War . The war was another trying time for the family as Sid was killed in an air raid , and Tom was jailed for looting a jeweller ' s . Alice first became dependent on tranquillizers , and then took to her bed , with Esther waiting on her . Esther was intimidated by Tom and banished him from the home after he attempted to suffocate Alice in her sleep . Esther met a soldier named John Brown in 1942 and they planned to marry " ( Note : In Episode 24 ( 3rd March 1961 ) Esther specifically stated that they weren ' t even engaged but were expected to marry eventually . John was named " Jack " in this conversation ) . " John worked in a bank and had a good job to come back to . They planned to live out of town and when he was on leave they walked for miles looking at houses . She spent months gathering materials for the perfect wedding dress , but the day before the wedding in 1943 , John ' s father told her that his plane had been shot down . Esther could not bear to let her family see her grieving , and was comforted by Ena Sharples . A few months later , Esther gave her dress to Sally Todd , who could not afford one . Esther and Ada attended the reception at the Rovers ; the first time either had stepped into the public house , as their father had encouraged them not to drink . Ada returned after the war and together the sisters tried to get Alice out of bed . The doctor couldn ' t find anything wrong with her but Alice insisted that she was ill and refused to get up . Esther and Ada looked after her together , but they got no thanks for it and when Tom returned home , Alice got out of bed to greet him . When he re - offended and went back to prison , Alice ' s " weak legs " gave in and she returned to bed . In 1949 , Ada married Matt Harvey and moved to Australia , and although pleased for her sister , Esther resented the fact that she had married and escaped first . When Alice finally died in her sleep on 16th February 1952 , Esther ' s feelings were more of relief than of sorrow . 1960 - 1972 . While looking after her mother , Esther had kept on her job at the Town Hall where she was promoted to head of the library division . in Coronation Street , she was a welcome face in most of the houses and was always on hand to help out with odd jobs , including helping Christine Hardman look after her mother May when May returned home from a mental hospital , putting up Lucille Hewitt when she ran away from her orphanage , preparing No . 9 for Ivan and Linda Cheveski and their newborn son Paul , and looking in on Christine after her mother ' s death . In January 1961 , Esther got a new job at Hunter and Bowen , a mail - order company . That May , Tom turned up at Esther ' s door having been released from prison . Esther was obligated to take him in but was dubious about his claim to be on the straight and narrow . He soon showed his true colours by harassing Esther and the neighbours about investing in his schemes . Esther confided her troubles in her boss Brian Foley , who told Tom over tea that he was driving Esther to a nervous breakdown . Tom said he wasn ' t staying around anyway and left shortly thereafter . In May 1962 , Esther was offered a job as head clerk at Mason ' s Department Store , which came with a flat in Moor Lane . Esther jumped at the chance and left the Street although she still visited , attending Ken Barlow and Valerie Tatlock ' s wedding and taking in Christine Appleby after Christine was made to leave No . 11 by the landlord . The following year , Esther announced that she was moving to Glasgow but she made two more appearances in Weatherfield : Val ' s funeral in 1971 and Ernie Bishop and Emily Nugent ' s wedding in 1972 . Quotes . " Oh you ' ve never got that bookcase open again . " ( First line ) " Well , she left it a bit late , but not too late eh Mrs Sharples ? " ( Final line , about Emily Nugent getting married )