Old Courthouse tour to underground cells captivates visitors

The annual Heritage Open Day festival attracted locals and people from miles around to find out about the town’s intriguing past.

Community members worked alongside Knutsford Town Council to offer a jam-packed programme of free tours, talks, events and exhibitions.

Stories of the past were unearthed as visitors explored underground cells at the old Courthouse.

A steady stream of visitors came to see the displays at Brook Street Chapel (Image: Supplied)

Brook Street Chapel mounted a fascinating display for three days of how the railway transformed the town.

Brook Street Chapel mounted a fascinating display about how the railway changed Knutsford (Image: Tessa Harri Carroll)

More than 200 visitors came to see ‘Knutsford, the railway and Elizabeth Gaskell’.

Visitors were fascinated to see all the historic documents displayed in The Gaskell Heritage Room (Image: Supplied)

The grade I listed building showed how the famous author responded through her novels to the changes brought about by the coming of the railways.

Hundreds of visitors came to Brook Street Chapel to see the intriguing exhibition (Image: Tessa Harri Carroll)

A highlight of the exhibition was a detailed model of the old Knutsford railway station which had been made specially for the event by Jeff McDougall.

Jeff McDougall made this detailed model of the old Knutsford railway station specially for the exhibition (Image: Supplied)

The Gaskell Heritage Room was also open for people to find out about Elizabeth’s early life and how her Unitarian faith inspired her novels.

A further presentation on the history of the Anderton Boat Lift was given by Dave Thomas in the chapel hall.

Beulah Cornes, main organiser of the event, said “I was very grateful to all the chapel volunteers who acted as stewards to answer questions relating to the displays in the chapel and The Gaskell Heritage Room,and who helped with the serving of refreshments in the hall. 

"We were delighted with the steady stream of visitors who came to see the exhibitions and the interest that they showed."

Visitors were fascinated to discover so much about the town's heritage (Image: Tessa Harri Carroll)

One of the standout moments of the weekend was the opening of the old courthouse on Toft Road.

Visitors were captivated by a historical tour and talk that included a visit to the underground cells and a special guest appearance from some historical characters.

The council says that feedback from all the events was ‘overwhelmingly positive’.

One visitor said: “We had a very good guide and heard lots of interesting tales about events in Knutsford.

“We really enjoyed spending time in the town.”

Alex Molloy, events manager at Knutsford Town Council, said: "There was real enthusiasm from the visitors showing how keen people are to learn about our local history.

“We hope that by sharing these stories and opening up these historic spaces, we can foster an even greater appreciation of Knutsford’s heritage."

The Curzon screened two showings of ‘Knutsford: Tales of War’.

This poignant new film features memories of four residents living in the town during the Second World War.

Enid Leigh, Edith Chadwick, Tony Leadbeater and Bill Cowburn shared their experiences.

Full interviews with the four stars of the film can now be seen on the Town Council’s YouTube channel.

A number of sold out walking tours visited Booths Hall and St Helena’s chapel, the historic coaching inns that put Knutsford on the map in the 17th and 18th century, St Cross Church and the sites of the Cross Town manors.

The popular Knutsford Ghost Walk also ran two guided tours.

The original Egerton School was open for a talk on the town’s connection with Kenya through the Egerton family.

Another former school, Tabley House, once home to the Leicester family, opened its doors for free to visitors to explore their unique collection of paintings, furniture and memorabilia.

The library hosted a talk on a new book, ‘Knutsford, Our Streets Through Time’, written by local historian Jenny Collis.

From 1016 to the present day, Jenny travels through the streets of the ancient market town, showing how it looked in times past and how the town centre as we know it came about.

Knutsford Town Council hopes to run this event again next year.

Anyone wishing to be involved in helping to coordinate the weekend in 2025 can contact Alex Molloy on alex.molloy@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk