Knutsford
Encyclopedia
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
, in North West England
. It is located about 16 miles (25.7 km) south-west of Manchester
, 25 miles (40.2 km) east of Liverpool
and 11 miles (17.7 km) northwest of Macclesfield
.
Knutsford is situated on the Cheshire Plain
, between the Peak District
in the South Pennines
to the east and the Clwydian Range
in the Welsh mountains to the west. Knutsford's proximity to Manchester
has both now and historically helped it become a commuter town
for those employed in Manchester
. Today the town's location gives it easy access to Merseyside as well as Manchester.
Knutsford's main town centre streets, Princess Street (also known locally as Top Street) and King Street lower down, and also known as Bottom Street, form the "hub" of the town. At one end of the narrow King Street is an entrance to Tatton Park
. The Tatton estate was home to the Egerton family, and has given its name to Tatton
parliamentary constituency, which also includes the neighbouring communities of Alderley Edge
and Wilmslow
. Former Parliamentary representatives include the BBC war correspondent Martin Bell
, who stood as an Independent in 1997 to defeat the disgraced former Conservative Party MP, Neil Hamilton
.
of 1086 as Cunetesford ("Canute's ford"). King Canute (Knútr in Old Norse
) was the king of England (1016–1035) and later king of Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden as well. Local tradition says that King Canute forded the River Lily
, which was said to be dangerous then, though other reports say it was the Birkin Brook at or near Booth Mill. The English Place-Name Society
gives the name as being derived from the Old English for Knutr's ford or possibly hillock ford.
Knutsford was the place in which General George S. Patton
, shortly before the Normandy invasion, delivered a speech perceived to be critical of the Soviets, and which nearly ended his career.
After the Second World War overspill housing estates were created in the town to accommodate families from Manchester. Later overspill estates were built in Over ward, which was named Longridge. At the end of the 20th century, all of the homes on the estate that had not already been sold to their occupants were transferred to Manchester Methodist Housing.
In 2005 Knutsford was named as the most expensive town to buy a house in northern England
, followed by nearby town Altrincham
. There is an extremely large range of house prices in Knutsford, currently varying from approximately £79,000 to £3,850,000.
since April 2009.
Prior to that Knutsford was in the Borough of Macclesfield and before that Knutsford Urban District Council.
Knutsford town council was created after the abolition of the urban district council in the local government reorganisation of 1974. The town comprises four wards: Nether, Norbury Booths, Bexton, and Over. Each ward returns three councillors except for Over which, owing to its size and greater population, returns six. Each councillor serves a four-year term. The town council is elected whole every four years. The election held on 5 May 2011 returned fourteen Conservatives and one independent.
(Junction 19) and M56
(Junction 7) motorways. However, this can also have disadvantages as the A50 which runs through Knutsford town centre follows a similar route to the M6 between Warrington
and Stoke-on-Trent
, this means that if the M6 is closed due to an accident or roadworks then a large volume of traffic transfers to the A50 and causes major traffic jams in Knutsford.
which is situated on the Mid-Cheshire Line
running from Chester to Manchester (via Altrincham). The station was built in 1862 by the Cheshire Midland Railway
. The CMR was absorbed into the Cheshire Lines Committee
(CLC) in August 1867, this entity continuing to serve Knutsford until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. The train service to Manchester was re-routed via a slower route when the Manchester Metrolink
trams took over the CLC direct line between Altrincham and Manchester, with the heavy rail service being re-routed via Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly.
Currently there is an hourly service to Altrincham
, Stockport
and Manchester
to the north and Northwich
and Chester
to the south-west, with extra trains to and from Stockport
at peak times on weekdays. On Sundays there is a 2 hourly service to Chester
and a 2 hourly service to Southport
via Manchester
, Bolton
and Wigan
. The number of weekday peak trains to Manchester was controversially cut back in December 2008 to allow Virgin Trains
to run extra services between Manchester and London.
, Knutsford to Altrincham
via Wilmslow
(which both have an hourly service) and the Knutsford Town Circular (which runs half hourly). There is also a Northwich-Knutsford-Altrincham bus approximately every two hours and a Lower Peover-Knutsford-Lymm-Warrington bus on Tuesdays and Fridays only. No buses operate in the town on Sundays.
In the past it was common for one bus operator to run most or all of the bus routes in Knutsford. This was once Crosville who ran buses across Cheshire
and North Wales. Then later Star Line Travel took over services, who were based in Knutsford and at Manchester Airport. Star Line Travel were taken over by British Bus t/a North Western Road Car Company
, who then later became part of Arriva
Group. Star Line Travel's Knutsford depot had been closed which made running bus routes in Knutsford an unattractive proposition for Arriva, who ceased to serve the town in January 2009.
Current bus operators in Knutsford are Chapel-en-le-Frith
based Bowers
, Wrexham
based GHA Travel and subsidiary Vale Travel and Winsford
based Tomlinson Travel. Most buses used in Knutsford are painted in green and silver Cheshire Connect livery, regardless of the operator.
Knutsford has one large supermarket, the Preston based Booths Supermarkets, a Waitrose
, a Sainsbury's Local
and two Co-op stores (one on Princess Street and one on Parkgate Lane). Tesco
used to have a small shop in the town centre, which closed many years ago. Tesco had hoped to open a larger store on the edge of the town on Mobberley Road. However, Mobberley
councillors were unhappy with the idea as they thought it might result in more cars travelling through the village of Mobberley. In 2008 Aldi
announced plans to open a superstore in Knutsford, but construction is yet to begin and the current situation regarding the development is unknown.
Barclays has a large campus site at Radbroke Hall
on Toft Road just outside Knutsford, employing several thousand staff in IT and support functions.
Knutsford has two Anglican churches, St John the Baptist
and St Cross
; a Roman Catholic church, St Vincent's; a Methodist church, a Unitarian church and a Gospel church. Knutsford is located in the Church of England
Diocese of Chester
and in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury
. The nearest Baptist church is in Altrincham
and the nearest United Reformed church, Polish Catholic church and Salvation Army are located in Northwich
.
which also has a Sixth Form. Some secondary school pupils from the town travel to schools in Hartford
, Holmes Chapel
, Hale
and Macclesfield
. Some sixth formers from the town travel to colleges in Northwich
and Timperley
. Macclesfield College run some adult education courses in Knutsford and Age Concern run computer courses for the over 50s at Knutsford Library (as well as other libraries in Cheshire).
Knutsford Hockey Club plays its home games at Knutsford Leisure Centre and are based at the Crosstown Bowling Club on Chelford Road. This 100 year old club runs 4 men's teams, a ladies team, a mixed team and a badgers team. The Men's 1st XI play in Division 1 of The North West Hockey League
Knutsford Cricket Club plays its home games in the Cheshire Cricket Alliance at Mereheath Lane.
The home ground of Toft
Cricket Club is located at Booths Park, Chelford Road. The Cricket Club gets its name from a neighbouring civil parish where the original ground was located when the club was established in 1928. Toft play in the ECB Premier Division of the Cheshire County Cricket League It won the National Village Championship trophy at Lords
in 1989.
Knutsford Rugby Club was established in 2004, and is supported by players from Sale Sharks
. It was promoted a division within its first season. In the 2008 season, both its 1st XV and 2nd XV gained promotion in their respective leagues.
Knutsford Football Club
, formed in 1948, play at their Manchester Road ground. The club has two Saturday teams, the first team in the Cheshire League and the second or A team in the Altrincham and District League. Two Associated Veterans teams also play on Sundays in the Cheshire Veterans League.
The Tatton Club a snooker and billiards club formed in 1926, located on Tatton Street. The club has one team who play in division 1 in the Knutsford and District Snooker League.
Every 10 years Knutsford hosts an international three-hour endurance race for Penny-farthing
bicycles.
and the Cheshire County Show in the parish of Tabley, near Knutsford.
The annual Knutsford Royal May Day
festival is where hundreds of people parade through the streets, and the May Queen
is crowned. During the May Day weekend there is also a funfair run on 'The Heath' (where the crowning of the May Queen also takes place) This is said to be one of the largest funfairs in the UK.
Local folklore claims that Edward "Highwayman" Higgins had a tunnel running under The Heath, where he hid his booty.
The Knutsford Guardian, established in 1860, is the only weekly paid for paper dedicated to covering the town and its surrounding villages. The newspaper is teamed with the Northwich
, Middlewich
, and Winsford
Guardian.
There is a May Day custom, still observed today, of "sanding the streets" in Knutsford. The streets are decorated with coloured sands in patterns and pictures.
Tradition has it that King Cnut, while fording the River Lily
, threw sand from his shoes into the path of a wedding party, wishing the newly wed as many children as the grains of sand at their feet. The custom can be traced to the late 1600s. Queen Victoria
, in her journal of 1832 recorded: "we arrived at Knutsford, where we were most civilly received, the streets being sanded in shapes which is peculiar to this town".
Knutsford was the model for Elizabeth Gaskell
's novel Cranford
. She lived in the town for some time, on what is now known as Gaskell Avenue, and she is buried in the Unitarian Chapel graveyard. Many of the places and people described in her books can be identified as being based on places and people in the town. In 2007 the BBC adapted the novel and produced a popular TV series Cranford. Despite several references to Knutsford, including King Street and The Heath, the TV adaptation was actually filmed in Lacock
, Wiltshire
. Notably, in 1987 Legh Road in Knutsford, designed by Richard Harding Watt, doubled for Colonial Shanghai in the opening scenes from Steven Spielberg
's film Empire of the Sun
.
Knutsford Amateur Drama Society was established in 1925 and moved to its premises in Queen Street, Knutsford shortly after the end of the Second World War. Now known by the name of the building it occupies, Knutsford Little Theatre
continues to produce a selection of plays each year, including an annual pantomime.
Knutsford Heritage Centre is situated in a 17th-century timber-framed building just off King Street, which was a blacksmith's forge in the 19th century. It has a museum, garden, shop and gallery featuring various exhibitions, talks and events, and walking tours are also available. On permanent exhibition are the May Queen's dress shoes and crown from 1887.
Scenes from the George C. Scott
film Patton
were filmed in the centre of Knutsford, in front of the old Town Hall. The building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and for much of the 20th century was a furniture show room, but it now lies vacant.
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. It is located about 16 miles (25.7 km) south-west of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, 25 miles (40.2 km) east of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and 11 miles (17.7 km) northwest of Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
.
Knutsford is situated on the Cheshire Plain
Cheshire Plain
The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland situated almost entirely within the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It is bounded by the hills of North Wales to the west, and the Peak District of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire to the east and southeast...
, between the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
in the South Pennines
South Pennines
South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. It is bounded to the west by the Forest of Rossendale and the Yorkshire Dales to the north...
to the east and the Clwydian Range
Clwydian Range
The Clwydian Range is a series of hills and mountains in north east Wales that runs from Llandegla in the south to Prestatyn in the north, with the highest point being the popular Moel Famau...
in the Welsh mountains to the west. Knutsford's proximity to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
has both now and historically helped it become a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for those employed in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Today the town's location gives it easy access to Merseyside as well as Manchester.
Knutsford's main town centre streets, Princess Street (also known locally as Top Street) and King Street lower down, and also known as Bottom Street, form the "hub" of the town. At one end of the narrow King Street is an entrance to Tatton Park
Tatton Park
Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...
. The Tatton estate was home to the Egerton family, and has given its name to Tatton
Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....
parliamentary constituency, which also includes the neighbouring communities of Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,409....
and Wilmslow
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
. Former Parliamentary representatives include the BBC war correspondent Martin Bell
Martin Bell
Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...
, who stood as an Independent in 1997 to defeat the disgraced former Conservative Party MP, Neil Hamilton
Neil Hamilton (politician)
Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...
.
History
Knutsford was recorded in the William the Conqueror's Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Cunetesford ("Canute's ford"). King Canute (Knútr in Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
) was the king of England (1016–1035) and later king of Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden as well. Local tradition says that King Canute forded the River Lily
River Lily
River Lily is a small stream that flows through Knutsford, England. It has been claimed that it is the smallest river in Europe. It enters Tatton Mere by running under an unmade road. Recently, this area has been the subject of local news reports due to flooding that has occurred on several...
, which was said to be dangerous then, though other reports say it was the Birkin Brook at or near Booth Mill. The English Place-Name Society
English Place-Name Society
The English Place-Name Society is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names ....
gives the name as being derived from the Old English for Knutr's ford or possibly hillock ford.
Knutsford was the place in which General George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
, shortly before the Normandy invasion, delivered a speech perceived to be critical of the Soviets, and which nearly ended his career.
After the Second World War overspill housing estates were created in the town to accommodate families from Manchester. Later overspill estates were built in Over ward, which was named Longridge. At the end of the 20th century, all of the homes on the estate that had not already been sold to their occupants were transferred to Manchester Methodist Housing.
In 2005 Knutsford was named as the most expensive town to buy a house in northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
, followed by nearby town Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
. There is an extremely large range of house prices in Knutsford, currently varying from approximately £79,000 to £3,850,000.
Governance
Knutsford has been under the unitary council of Cheshire EastCheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
since April 2009.
Prior to that Knutsford was in the Borough of Macclesfield and before that Knutsford Urban District Council.
Knutsford town council was created after the abolition of the urban district council in the local government reorganisation of 1974. The town comprises four wards: Nether, Norbury Booths, Bexton, and Over. Each ward returns three councillors except for Over which, owing to its size and greater population, returns six. Each councillor serves a four-year term. The town council is elected whole every four years. The election held on 5 May 2011 returned fourteen Conservatives and one independent.
Road
Knutsford has excellent access to the motorway network, with junctions to the M6M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
(Junction 19) and M56
M56 motorway
The M56 Motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is in length. It is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales...
(Junction 7) motorways. However, this can also have disadvantages as the A50 which runs through Knutsford town centre follows a similar route to the M6 between Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
and Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, this means that if the M6 is closed due to an accident or roadworks then a large volume of traffic transfers to the A50 and causes major traffic jams in Knutsford.
Rail
Knutsford is served by Knutsford railway stationKnutsford railway station
Knutsford railway station serves the town of Knutsford in Cheshire, England. The station is south of Manchester Piccadilly on the Mid-Cheshire Line to Chester...
which is situated on the Mid-Cheshire Line
Mid-Cheshire Line
The Mid-Cheshire Line is a railway line in the north-west of England, between Chester and Manchester.- History :The Mid Cheshire line has its origins in railways promoted by three separate railway companies in the 19th century. The Cheshire Midland Railway was opened to passengers between...
running from Chester to Manchester (via Altrincham). The station was built in 1862 by the Cheshire Midland Railway
Cheshire Midland Railway
An act was passed on 14 June 1860 to build a railway from Altrincham on the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway to Northwich. The line would be 12 miles 65 chains in length...
. The CMR was absorbed into the Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
(CLC) in August 1867, this entity continuing to serve Knutsford until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. The train service to Manchester was re-routed via a slower route when the Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
trams took over the CLC direct line between Altrincham and Manchester, with the heavy rail service being re-routed via Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly.
Currently there is an hourly service to Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
, Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to the north and Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
and Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
to the south-west, with extra trains to and from Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
at peak times on weekdays. On Sundays there is a 2 hourly service to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and a 2 hourly service to Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
via Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
. The number of weekday peak trains to Manchester was controversially cut back in December 2008 to allow Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
to run extra services between Manchester and London.
Bus
Knutsford is not well served by buses. The only routes with a regular service are Knutsford to MacclesfieldMacclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
, Knutsford to Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
via Wilmslow
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
(which both have an hourly service) and the Knutsford Town Circular (which runs half hourly). There is also a Northwich-Knutsford-Altrincham bus approximately every two hours and a Lower Peover-Knutsford-Lymm-Warrington bus on Tuesdays and Fridays only. No buses operate in the town on Sundays.
In the past it was common for one bus operator to run most or all of the bus routes in Knutsford. This was once Crosville who ran buses across Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
and North Wales. Then later Star Line Travel took over services, who were based in Knutsford and at Manchester Airport. Star Line Travel were taken over by British Bus t/a North Western Road Car Company
North Western Road Car Company
North Western Road Car Company may refer to one of two bus operators running within the north west of England in different eras.* North Western Road Car Company , the original company based in Stockport, England...
, who then later became part of Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
Group. Star Line Travel's Knutsford depot had been closed which made running bus routes in Knutsford an unattractive proposition for Arriva, who ceased to serve the town in January 2009.
Current bus operators in Knutsford are Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith is a small town in Derbyshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District near the border with Cheshire, from Manchester. Dubbed "The Capital of the Peak District", the settlement was established by the Normans in the 12th century, originally as a hunting lodge within the Forest...
based Bowers
Bowers Coaches
Eric W. Bowers Coaches Limited trading as Bowers is a bus operator based in the High Peak district of Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. It is currently a subsidiary of the Centrebus Group, having been so since 2007, and prior to that an independent family business...
, Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
based GHA Travel and subsidiary Vale Travel and Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
based Tomlinson Travel. Most buses used in Knutsford are painted in green and silver Cheshire Connect livery, regardless of the operator.
Coach
From December 2011 low cost coach operator Gorilla Bus will run direct services between Knutsford and Liverpool, Liverpool South Parkway, Stoke-on-Trent, Carlisle, Hamilton, Glasgow and East Midlands Airport including overnight services.Airport
Manchester Airport is near the town. However, there is no direct bus or train link to it.Economy
Knutsford town centre has several restaurants and pubs, coffee shops, boutiques, antique shops and art galleries.Knutsford has one large supermarket, the Preston based Booths Supermarkets, a Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
, a Sainsbury's Local
Sainsbury's Local
Sainsbury’s Convenience Stores Ltd is a chain of 343 convenience stores operated by the UK's third largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's Local stores have different branding and fascia to the company's supermarkets.-History:In 1998, Sainsbury’s piloted its first Local store in...
and two Co-op stores (one on Princess Street and one on Parkgate Lane). Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
used to have a small shop in the town centre, which closed many years ago. Tesco had hoped to open a larger store on the edge of the town on Mobberley Road. However, Mobberley
Mobberley
Mobberley is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, situated between Wilmslow and Knutsford. Mobberley railway station lies on the Manchester to Northwich and Chester line and was opened on 12 May, 1862 by the Cheshire...
councillors were unhappy with the idea as they thought it might result in more cars travelling through the village of Mobberley. In 2008 Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
announced plans to open a superstore in Knutsford, but construction is yet to begin and the current situation regarding the development is unknown.
Barclays has a large campus site at Radbroke Hall
Radbroke Hall
Radbroke Hall is a former country house in the parish of Peover Superior, Cheshire, England. It was built between 1913 and 1917 for the Manchester businessman Claude Hardy, the architect being Percy Worthington. The house has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building....
on Toft Road just outside Knutsford, employing several thousand staff in IT and support functions.
Religion
St John the Baptist's Church, Knutsford
St John the Baptist's Church, Knutsford is in the town of Knutsford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of...
and St Cross
St Cross Church, Knutsford
St Cross Church, Knutsford, is in the town of Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, in the deanery of Knutsford, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester...
; a Roman Catholic church, St Vincent's; a Methodist church, a Unitarian church and a Gospel church. Knutsford is located in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Diocese of Chester
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
and in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury
Diocese of Shrewsbury
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The diocese encompasses parts of the North West of England and parts of the West Midlands...
. The nearest Baptist church is in Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
and the nearest United Reformed church, Polish Catholic church and Salvation Army are located in Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
.
Education
Knutsford has six primary schools (one of these is a Roman Catholic school and another is a private school.) Knutsford also has a high school: Knutsford High SchoolKnutsford High School
Knutsford High School is a secondary school in Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It has Specialist School Status in the areas of English and Humanities.-Buildings:...
which also has a Sixth Form. Some secondary school pupils from the town travel to schools in Hartford
Hartford, Cheshire
Hartford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies at the intersection of the A559 road and the West Coast Mainline and is less than south west of the town of Northwich...
, Holmes Chapel
Holmes Chapel
Holmes Chapel is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Until 1974 the parish was known as Church Hulme.At the 2001 Census the population of the village was recorded as 5,669...
, Hale
Hale, Greater Manchester
Hale is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is contiguous with the southeast of Altrincham, approximately southwest of the city of Manchester....
and Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
. Some sixth formers from the town travel to colleges in Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
and Timperley
Timperley
Timperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
. Macclesfield College run some adult education courses in Knutsford and Age Concern run computer courses for the over 50s at Knutsford Library (as well as other libraries in Cheshire).
Sport
Badminton, Grove Park Badminton Club play at Knutsford Leisure centre every Sunday evening, 7pm to 9pm. Visitors are alway welcome to come along and try us out.Knutsford Hockey Club plays its home games at Knutsford Leisure Centre and are based at the Crosstown Bowling Club on Chelford Road. This 100 year old club runs 4 men's teams, a ladies team, a mixed team and a badgers team. The Men's 1st XI play in Division 1 of The North West Hockey League
Knutsford Cricket Club plays its home games in the Cheshire Cricket Alliance at Mereheath Lane.
The home ground of Toft
Toft, Cheshire
Toft is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located immediately to the south of Knutsford and is split by the A50 road to more southern Holmes Chapel...
Cricket Club is located at Booths Park, Chelford Road. The Cricket Club gets its name from a neighbouring civil parish where the original ground was located when the club was established in 1928. Toft play in the ECB Premier Division of the Cheshire County Cricket League It won the National Village Championship trophy at Lords
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
in 1989.
Knutsford Rugby Club was established in 2004, and is supported by players from Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
. It was promoted a division within its first season. In the 2008 season, both its 1st XV and 2nd XV gained promotion in their respective leagues.
Knutsford Football Club
Knutsford F.C.
Knutsford F.C. are a football club based in the town of Knutsford, Cheshire. The club was founded in 1888 and today play their football in the First Division of the Cheshire Association Football League...
, formed in 1948, play at their Manchester Road ground. The club has two Saturday teams, the first team in the Cheshire League and the second or A team in the Altrincham and District League. Two Associated Veterans teams also play on Sundays in the Cheshire Veterans League.
The Tatton Club a snooker and billiards club formed in 1926, located on Tatton Street. The club has one team who play in division 1 in the Knutsford and District Snooker League.
Every 10 years Knutsford hosts an international three-hour endurance race for Penny-farthing
Penny-farthing
Penny-farthing, high wheel, high wheeler, and ordinary are all terms used to describe a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel that was popular after the boneshaker, until the development of the safety bicycle, in the 1880s...
bicycles.
Culture and community
There are many events in and around the town each year including the May Day festivities, The RHS Flower show at Tatton ParkTatton Park
Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...
and the Cheshire County Show in the parish of Tabley, near Knutsford.
The annual Knutsford Royal May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
festival is where hundreds of people parade through the streets, and the May Queen
May Queen
The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a holiday personification.-Festivals:...
is crowned. During the May Day weekend there is also a funfair run on 'The Heath' (where the crowning of the May Queen also takes place) This is said to be one of the largest funfairs in the UK.
Local folklore claims that Edward "Highwayman" Higgins had a tunnel running under The Heath, where he hid his booty.
The Knutsford Guardian, established in 1860, is the only weekly paid for paper dedicated to covering the town and its surrounding villages. The newspaper is teamed with the Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
, Middlewich
Middlewich
Middlewich is a market town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is east of the city of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach....
, and Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
Guardian.
There is a May Day custom, still observed today, of "sanding the streets" in Knutsford. The streets are decorated with coloured sands in patterns and pictures.
Tradition has it that King Cnut, while fording the River Lily
River Lily
River Lily is a small stream that flows through Knutsford, England. It has been claimed that it is the smallest river in Europe. It enters Tatton Mere by running under an unmade road. Recently, this area has been the subject of local news reports due to flooding that has occurred on several...
, threw sand from his shoes into the path of a wedding party, wishing the newly wed as many children as the grains of sand at their feet. The custom can be traced to the late 1600s. Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, in her journal of 1832 recorded: "we arrived at Knutsford, where we were most civilly received, the streets being sanded in shapes which is peculiar to this town".
Knutsford was the model for Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
's novel Cranford
Cranford (novel)
Cranford is one of the better-known novels of the 19th century English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in 1851 as a serial in the magazine Household Words, which was edited by Charles Dickens.-Plot:...
. She lived in the town for some time, on what is now known as Gaskell Avenue, and she is buried in the Unitarian Chapel graveyard. Many of the places and people described in her books can be identified as being based on places and people in the town. In 2007 the BBC adapted the novel and produced a popular TV series Cranford. Despite several references to Knutsford, including King Street and The Heath, the TV adaptation was actually filmed in Lacock
Lacock
Lacock is a village in Wiltshire, England, 3 miles from the town of Chippenham. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust, and attracts many visitors by virtue of its unspoiled appearance.-History:...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. Notably, in 1987 Legh Road in Knutsford, designed by Richard Harding Watt, doubled for Colonial Shanghai in the opening scenes from Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's film Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun (film)
Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers...
.
Knutsford Amateur Drama Society was established in 1925 and moved to its premises in Queen Street, Knutsford shortly after the end of the Second World War. Now known by the name of the building it occupies, Knutsford Little Theatre
Knutsford Little Theatre
Knutsford Little Theatre is an amateur theatre group based in Knutsford, UK. They were formed in 1925 as Knutsford Amateur Drama Society and changed their name after acquiring their own premises on Queen Street. They perform up to seven productions a year including a very popular family pantomime...
continues to produce a selection of plays each year, including an annual pantomime.
Knutsford Heritage Centre is situated in a 17th-century timber-framed building just off King Street, which was a blacksmith's forge in the 19th century. It has a museum, garden, shop and gallery featuring various exhibitions, talks and events, and walking tours are also available. On permanent exhibition are the May Queen's dress shoes and crown from 1887.
Scenes from the George C. Scott
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
film Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
were filmed in the centre of Knutsford, in front of the old Town Hall. The building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and for much of the 20th century was a furniture show room, but it now lies vacant.
Notable people
Knutsford has been home to a number of celebrities including:- Sir Bobby CharltonBobby CharltonSir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
, OBE - Elizabeth GaskellElizabeth GaskellElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
(author) - Edward Higgins (aka Highway-man Higgins)
- Benjamin Kemp (poet)
- Henry RoyceHenry RoyceSir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet, OBE was a pioneering car manufacturer, who with Charles Stewart Rolls founded the Rolls-Royce company.-Early life:...
(of Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce LimitedRolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
) - Nick FreemanNick FreemanNick Freeman is an English solicitor. Freeman is the owner of Manchester based legal practice Freeman & Co., and is best known as a celebrity defence lawyer, specialising in traffic and speeding offences.He has been nicknamed "Mr...
, "Mr Loophole", solicitor. - Phil JagielkaPhil JagielkaPhilip Nikodem "Phil" Jagielka is an English international footballer who plays for Everton in the Premier League. He played regularly in central midfield for his previous club Sheffield United, but generally plays in central defence for Everton...
, footballer. - Alan Fettis, footballer.