Knutsford & District Through Time

The origins of the name Knutsford have been disputed by historians but there is an ancient and popular explanation. After one of his victories, King Canute crossed the brook known as Birken and the village became known as ‘Canute’s ford’ later to be changed to Knutsford. The Domesday Book gives some credence to this by calling it ‘Cunetesford’ (Canute’s Ford). Canute was the king of England from 1016 to 1035 and his name in Old Norse was Knutr. Over the years Knutsford became popular and affluent with the many wealthy families who settled in the vicinity. In the late 1800s Richard Harding Watt arrived with his money and love of Italian architecture, and used his wealth to build the Gaskell Memorial tower in memory of the town’s famous author Elizabeth Gaskell and the Kings Coffee House next to it. So take a stroll through the streets of this Cheshire gem, and see how it has changed.