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Knutsford
Knutsford maps
Historic maps of Knutsford and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Knutsford maps
Knutsford area books
Displaying 1 of 13 books about Knutsford and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Knutsford
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memories of Knutsford.
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It Will Always be 'Home'
I was born in Knutsford in 1947 at 114 King Street (the Tatton cottages), and moved to Manor Park in 1951. I started at Egerton School (the old one on Silkmill Street) and then moved to Crosstown. I have so many memories of my wonderful home town that 1000 words wouldn't begin to tell my story. The Maydays, (I was a bridesmaid in the village wedding, a dutch girl and several other characters). The freedom of running the fields in front of our house on Manor Park (no housing estate opposite in those days) - over to St. Helena's churchyard. Where in the summer we would take a picnic of jam sandwiches and a bottle of water, and use the gravestones as a table (oh boy, when I think of that now!) I remember the day my brother David came home from one of his and Tony's (my other brother) adventures, soaking wet. They had ridden over the fields to Booths Mere, and David decided he would ride... Read more
Childhood Memories
Knutsford holds a special place in my heart as I was born there in 1956 and spent nearly eight years of my childhood growing up in this then safe and close community. I have very strong memories of family, home, school and friends and the environment during these years up until late 1963 when we emigrated to Western Australia as "10 pound poms". Our family home was 65 Mobberley Rd., Crosstown right next door to the pub (Lee Arms?). My memories of my school days are especially vivid and the now demolished Crosstown school will always have a place in my heart. My elderly aunt still lives across the road from where the school used to be -in the family home built by my great grandfather. I have returned to Knutsford twice-1987 and 1999, but these visits have not overshadowed those powerful early memories that I hold so dear. Country walks across the fields and down the lanes, ( I'll never forget chasing after golfballs that Dad belted into the... Read more
Blackden Hall And The Laundry, Knutsford And Liverpool.
Hi Audrey, I think most of your info about Blackden Hall and Maria Stanley is correct. Simon Myatt (one census looks like Myall) and his family lived at Blackden Hall for quite a few decades and Maria Stanley was definately a Prison Wardress. I believe she worked at the Laundry you mentioned, in Knutsford, but I don't know anything about her owning or setting that one up. However, later she definately was a partner/co-owner in the Birchfield Laundry in Liverpool along with another relative who I believe was the more active partner. If you search for 'Birchfield Laundry' online you can still find some photographs of it. I understand that when she died it was announced on the local Radio Station as she was a very well respected lady in the area, having been a Prison Wardress and local business woman. I hope this helps.
First Day at School
I remember walking into the playground with my Mum and 2 older brothers, when Jeremy pointed out that I couldn't go to this schools because it was for 'boys' only. The main entrance to the imposing Victorian building was through the original boys' entrance - the girls' entrance was at the other end if the building! I was very upset!!!
Jane Bell nee Elsmore
Hot Toasted Teacakes
As a teenager I used to go the King's Coffee House with my neighbours, Penny and Harriet (before her family was moved to Brussels). We had such fun, pretending to be grown up and sophisticated; in truth the toasted teacakes were a real treat and absolutely delicious!! I till savour them today.
Knutsford Heath
Knusford Heath was our playground as children. We used to burrow tunnels in the sand pits, play hide and seek, Cowboys and Indians, or simply roll down the hills. I only lived across the road in Tabley Road. We'd be up at dawn and out all day, called in for dinner or tea by the sound of Mum ringing the bell. There were loads of us kids - first the elder 4 Elsmores, the Lynches, the younger Yellowlees and first Jamie, then Penny. If we didn't go across to the Heath, we would go cycling to the motorway bridge to wave to cars on the M6, stopping on the way back to fish for tiddlers in the pond. When we weren't doing that, we would play dare races across Tabley Road - not that there were many cars on the road in those days - play in each other gardens (going through holes in the hedges) or take part in the May Day Parades, play on the Grandstand, or go... Read more
The old Laundry
I have always heard that my gran's sister started the laundry. Prior to this she was a wardress at the prison. Her name was Maria Stanley. I know that family stories get distorted and maybe she just worked at the laundry. She was definitely a wardress in 1901 and I would be interested to know when the laundry came into being. Later in life my great aunt started a laundry in Liverpool which survived till after the second world war. Maybe someone could solve this little mystery for me.
Audrey Frost
The Sycamores
My grandfather, Gerard Murgatroyd, was born in a house in Knutsford called "The Sycamores" in 1879. I live in Montreal and my father died in 1949 when I was two. My grandfather died before my parents met and there was no love lost between my mother and her mother-in-law. As a result I had virtually no information about my father's side of the family. A cousin on my mother's side is the family genaeologist and told me that my grandfather was born in Knutsford. I had the most wonderful experience of travelling to Knutsford in 1989 to see what I could discover. I went to the town hall and explained why I was there. The very kind man there said, "Oh, you need to talk to Kath Goodchild, our local historian!" Luckily, Kath was at home and came directly over, carrying a census from 1881.
We had a lovely time looking it over and found my grandfather AND his parents AND five siblings, Henry, Eleanor, Emily, Theodore and Dorothy, living... Read more
