Harry Potter Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Harry Potter Wiki

"...They stood side by side, looking across the road at the rows and rows of dilapidated brick houses, their windows dull and blind in the darkness."
— Description of Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange observing Spinner's End[src]

Spinner's End was a street on which the childhood home of Severus Snape was located. It was stated to be one of several streets lined with deserted brick houses and broken streetlamps, near a dirty river and an abandoned mill with a tall chimney.[1] It was located in Cokeworth.[2]

Spinner's End was located near the childhood home of the Evans family, where Petunia Dursley and Lily Potter grew up, as revealed through Snape's memories to Harry Potter in 1998.[3] While the Black sisters were there, Bellatrix deemed it a "Muggle dunghill".[1]

Description[]

Cokeworth[]

"The chilly mist... drifted over a dirty river that wound between overgrown, rubbish-strewn banks. An immense chimney, relic of a disused mill, reared up, shadowy and ominous. There was no sound apart from the whisper of the black water and no sign of life apart from a scrawny fox that had slunk down the bank to nose hopefully at some old fish-and-chip wrappings in the tall grass."
— Description of the neighbourhood in which Spinner's End is a street of[src]
Mill Town

The town of Cokeworth

Cokeworth was a large town located in England,[4] in which the street of Spinner's End was located. It was a town with several streets of identical brick, terraced, houses. It was located near a dirty river, the bank of which was strewn with litter. There was a disused mill with a tall chimney in this town.[1] Lily Potter and Petunia Dursley lived in walking distance from Spinner's End during their childhood, with their mother and father.[3][5] Spinner's End was described as a poverty-stricken neighbourhood.

Snape family home[]

"They had stepped directly into a tiny sitting room, where had the feeling of a dark padded cell. The walls were completely covered in books, most of them bound in old black or brown leather; a threadbare sofa, an old armchair and a rickety table stood grouped together in a pool of dim light cast by a candle-filled lamp hung from the ceiling. The place had an air of neglect, as though it was not usually inhabited."
— Description of Snape's sitting room[src]

Snape's home contained a dark, enclosed sitting room, furnished with threadbare furniture, a dim candle-lit lamp hanging from the ceiling, and walls covered in books. The house stood at least two stories high, as a hidden door set in the wall of books revealed a narrow, ascending staircase, while another that led to a storeroom where elf-made wine was kept. As all the doors were completely hidden, the first room upon entry had the feeling of a prison cell. The place had "an air of neglect", as Snape spent most of his year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]

Peter Pettigrew at Spinner's End

Peter Pettigrew answering the door of Snape's house

Although originally a Muggle household (under the patriarchy of Tobias Snape), when Severus took over it, he apparently renovated it to fall in line of a wizard's residence, as the light source in the sitting room was a candle-lit lamp instead of electrical light fixtures.[1]

During the summer of 1996, Peter Pettigrew was assigned here by Lord Voldemort to assist Snape, in which Snape took it as treating Pettigrew as a slave, having him clean the house and serve food to guests. Peter's room of residence was behind the hidden door that led to upstairs.[1]

History[]

"She had knocked on the door before Bella, cursing under her breath, had caught up. Together they stood waiting, panting slightly, breathing in the smell of the dirty river that was carried to them on the night breeze. After a few seconds, they heard movement behind the door and it opened a crack. A sliver of a man could be seen looking out at them, a man with long black hair parted in curtains around a sallow face and black eyes."
— Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange visting snape at Spinner's End[src]
Severus Snape reading the Daily Prophet

Severus Snape in his sitting room

Severus Snape grew up in the last house on Spinner's End with his witch mother, Eileen Snape, and his Muggle father, Tobias Snape. He presumably took over the house after his parents either died or moved away. He stayed there during the summers between school years at Hogwarts. It is likely that his salary as a Professor and Head of House enabled him to purchase another home, but he considered Hogwarts to be his true home, as did Voldemort and Harry Potter.[1]

B6C2M1 Narcissa Severus Bellatrix Unbreakable Vow

Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy make an Unbreakable Vow

Two of the Black sisters, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, arrived at the house in 1996. They found that Wormtail was living there, as Voldemort had ordered him to "assist" Snape. Snape treated Wormtail as a servant, forcing him to fix drinks for his guests and clean the house. During this visit, Snape made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy, promising to protect Draco Malfoy during a mission to kill Albus Dumbledore.[1]

It is unknown what happened to the property after Snape died during the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998.

Behind the scenes[]

  • The Spinner in the street name likely refers to the involvement of the local inhabitants in textile production, most likely cotton or wool spinning. It might also allude to the spider-like facets of Severus Snape's character. The End has a morbid quality and could also hint at post-industrial decline.

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 24 images related to Spinner's End.

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 2 (Spinner's End)
  2. Identified in a Pottermore press conference at YouTube on June 23, 2011.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33 (The Prince's Tale)
  4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 3 (The Letters from No One)
  5. Identified in a YouTube video of the Pottermore press conference on June 23, 2011
Death Eaters
Dark Mark Pottermore
Leader: Lord Voldemort
Death Eaters

Avery II · Alecto Carrow · Amycus Carrow · Crabbe · Bartemius Crouch Junior † · Antonin Dolohov · Gibbon † · Goyle · Gareth Greengrass's brother · Jugson · Barnaby Lee's father · Barnaby Lee's mother · Bellatrix Lestrange † · Rabastan Lestrange · Rodolphus Lestrange · Walden Macnair · Mulciber I · Mulciber II · Nott · Pyrites (possibly) · Augustus Rookwood · Rosier · Evan Rosier † · Thorfinn Rowle · Selwyn · Merula Snyde's father · Merula Snyde's mother · Travers · Wilkes † · Corban Yaxley · Unidentified Death Eaters

Death Eater defectors

Regulus Black † · Igor Karkaroff † · Draco Malfoy · Lucius Malfoy · Peter Pettigrew † · Severus Snape

Death Eater allies

Borgin · Vincent Crabbe · John Dawlish · Delphini · Golgomath · Gregory Goyle · Fenrir Greyback · Mafalda Hopkirk · Narcissa Malfoy (defected) · Ismelda Murk (unofficially, supposedly) · Nagini · Mr Padgett · Mrs Padgett · Pansy Parkinson · Quirinus Quirrell · Albert Runcorn · Stanley Shunpike (Imperiused) · Scabior · Serpent of Slytherin · Pius Thicknesse (Imperiused) · Dolores Umbridge

Other affiliations

British Ministry of Magic (under Voldemort's control) · Daily Prophet (under Voldemort's control) · Dementors · Draco Malfoy's gang · Kreacher (formerly) · Tom Riddle's gang · Gang of Slytherins · Giants (Golgomath's control) · Inferi · Charmed skeletons · Muggle-Born Registration Commission · Theodore Nott (possibly) · Snatchers · Werewolf army · The Unforgivable

Death Eater establishments

Abandoned nuclear power plant · Borgin and Burkes · British Ministry of Magic Headquarters (under Voldemort's control) · The Cave · Chamber of Secrets · Forbidden Forest · Gaunt Shack · Lee family house · Lestrange Vault · Little Hangleton graveyard · Malfoy Manor · Misty Dell · Riddle House · Snatcher Camp · Spinner's End (Severus Snape's house) · The Abandoned Substation · The Ruins · The Quarry

Advertisement