Elizabeth Gaskell, Author of Cranford

Knutsford is one of Cheshire’s most charming towns with its picturesque black and white houses and nearby great country estates.

Knutsford was the ‘Cranford’ of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel but the town’s history goes back much further than the 19th century. Remains of early man dating back 8000 years have been found at nearby Tatton and it is said that the town’s name comes from the Danish King Canute and it appears in the 11th century Domesday Book.

Famous Residents
Elizabeth Gaskell, author of many novels, is probably the town’s most famous one-time resident and now the street where she lived is called Gaskell Avenue. In 1907 a memorial to Elizabeth Gaskell was erected in King Street by Richard Harding Watt and its design is somewhat Italian in style.

Not all Knutsford’s townspeople were as respectable as Mrs Gaskell. One of its infamous residents was Edward Higgins, a notorious highwayman who lived like a gentleman in the town until the law caught up with him and he left Knutsford quickly – legend has it that he used a tunnel under the town’s heath. Justice caught up with him eventually as he was hanged in Carmarthen in 1767.

Royal May Day
The town is also famous for its Royal May Day celebrations, said to be the most impressive in England. They began in 1864 but only acquired the ‘Royal’ name when Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) visited them in 1887. On May Day (1st May), the streets of Knutsford are strewn with coloured sands in which patterns are traced. Then there is a parade led by Jack-in-the-Green followed by the May Queen in a carriage. Children dance around an big maypole, a pagan fertility symbol, holding on to the coloured ribbons attached to it. The maypole itself is decorated with greenery and flowers.

Other Attractions

• Many visitors come to see Knutsford’s famous Cheshire, timber framed, black and white houses
• The town has a famous coaching inn on King Street once called the The George and Dragon but was renamed The Royal George after Queen Victoria visited in 1832. This inn is mentioned in Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel ‘Cranford’ and in another of her novels ‘Wives and Daughters’.
• General Patton made a famous anti-communist speech in the Victorian Gothic Town Hall in Toft Road and so this featured in the movie ‘Patton’.
• The Heath was once common land and a racecourse. It is now a recreation area and is the venue for the main Royal May Day celebrations. Elizabeth Gaskell would have been able to look out on the Heath from her home.
• In Macclesfield Street, the graveyard of the Unitarian Chapel is where Mrs Gaskell is buried.

Tatton Park
This country estate, set in 1000 acres of parklands, was owned by the Egerton family for 400 years until it the National Trust took it over in 1958.

The present day mansion was designed by Samuel Wyatt in the late 18th century. The first stage was completed and the death of Wyatt, the plans were scaled down and the house was completed in the early 19th century.

It has lavish state rooms with amazing collections of antique furniture, silver, pictures and glass amongst much else.

Visitors can also visit the Tudor Old Hall, completed in 1520 where they can step back in time and see what life was like in the 16th century.

Tatton Park is also justly famous for its gardens. Landscaped by Humphrey Repton, the gardens are superb incorporating Tatton and Melchett meres and include the spectacular Japanese Garden, the terraced Italian Garden and the Fernery, designed by Jospeh Paxton, once head gardener at Chatsworth and also responsible for solving the design problems of Crystal Palace, the home of the Great Exhibition in London.

Tabley House
This is another of the great houses close to Knutsford. Tabley House, designed by John Carr of York for Sir Peter Byrne Leicester. It was finished in 1767 and is the only 18th century Palladian country house in Cheshire. It has outstanding collections of antique furniture and pictures including a work by J.M.W. Turner.

If you visit Knutsford, you might also like to visit nearby Chester too.

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Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, 1878

Edinburgh castle, situated on a volcanic plug of rock, dominates the city that grew up around it from the 11th century. Here Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI of Scotland who also became James I of England.
Features of Interest in the Castle and Park

• The Scottish Crown Jewels are kept within the castle in the Old Royal Palace.
• The Scottish United Services Museum has exhibitions of the uniforms, arms, medals, etc of the Scottish armed forces.
• In the surrounding park, on Princes Street, the oldest floral clock in the world was constructed in 1903.
• At the opposite end of the gardens is the Church of St John, built by William Burn in 1817 and containing a remarkable collection of 19th century stained glass.

The Royal Mile

The Royal Mile, one of the most famous streets in Scotland, runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Abbey. It was the hub from which the city spread outwards and there are so many places to visit.

• At the castle end of the Royal Mile stands the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre which recounts the history of whisky over 300 years and also tells how the drink is made.
• A camera obscura is situated nearby in the Outlook Tower from which the whole panorama of Edinburgh may be seen while visitors listen to a commentary.
• Gladstone’s Land, a six storey tenement built in 1620, stands further west along the Royal Mile. Owned by the National Trust for Scotland, the building has been restored as a typical home of the period.
• The Museum of Childhood contains large collections of dolls, toys, games and costume.
• The People’s Story, near the eastern end , is housed in a former tollbooth and recounts the history of Edinburgh’s residents from the 18th century onwards.
• Huntly House Museum stands almost opposite and contains important collections of silver, glass and Scottish pottery as well as exhibitions on local history and topography and relics of Field Marshall Earl Haig. There are many other charming and historic buildings in the Royal Mile, this is only a small selection.

Holyrood

The Palace of Holyrood House and Holyrood Abbey lie at the eastern end of the Royal Mile. It is the official residence of the Queen in Scotland.

Although there has been a palace here since the early 16th century, built around the abbey’s guest house, the present building is largely late 17th century. Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender, stayed here in 1745.

Little now survives of Holyrood Abbey except for the ruined church although it was once a great and powerful religious house founded in 1128.

Since devolution, Holyrood is now home of the Scottish Parliament in its revolutionary and sometimes controversial building.

Other Museums

Edinburgh contains many other museums These include:

• The City Art Centre at 2 Market Street,with works by late 19th and 20th century artists.
• The Scottish National Portrait Gallery at 1 Queen Street
• The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Belford Road
• The Royal Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, contains the national collections of decorative arts, natural history, geology, technology, etc.
• The National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, has excellent exhibitions of pictures including works by El Greco, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Turner, Constable, Degas, Monet, etc.

The Edinburgh Festival

Probably the city’s best known event is the annual Edinburgh International Festival which dominates the city every summer.

It began in 1947 because many of the European arts festival were not taking place due to the devastation caused by the Second World War.

Since then, it has gone from strength to strength. While some of the performers are famous and mainstream, the Edinburgh Fringe attracts many unknown artists ranging from the talented to the bizarre.

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Swansea is second largest city in Wales. Although the city name appears to be of Viking origin, no evidence exists of any settlement until the 11th century when the Normans built a castle later destroyed by Owen Glendower. The major attraction is the beautiful Gower Peninsula just to the west of the city centre.

Gower Peninsula

Swansea is not only industrial but also a popular centre for tourists with its easy access to the Gower peninsula, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the landscape more than justifies the designation as it has really beautiful scenery both inland and along its coast. It also provides a range of habitats for many different and endangered flora and fauna.

Archaeological remains abound . The bones of exotic animals like lions, hippopotomus, mammoths and bears have been found in nearby caves. Iron Age forts and Neolithic bural chambers also exist. Bishopston, on the Gower Peninsula, stands near one of these, Parc le Breos. This is a multi-chambered tomb and contains the bones of about 25 people and was built about 6000 years ago. Nearby Cathole Cave shows evidence in the form of flint tools of habitation during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods.

The Gower Peninsula is more than a place to appreciate for its wildlife habitats or history. It’s also a place for families to have fun on its many beaches. There are sandy beaches and rocky coves, the most accessible with facilities like car parking and shops are Swansea Bay, the first one you reach on the south side of the peninsula after leaving Swansea, then further west, Caswell Bay, Oxwich Bay and Port Eynon.

Museums and Art Galleries

* The Swansea Museum, Victoria Road, opened in 1835, is traditional, exhibiting collections on natural history, archaeology, Egyptology and Swansea and Nantgarw china.
* The National Waterfont Museum, Oystermouth Road, presents the story of the impact of industrialisation on the Welsh people in a very accessible way.
* The Maritime and Industrial Museum housed in a turn of the century warehouse in the Maritime Quarter , has a number of historic vessels moored outside in the Marina. It tells the story of the city’s industrial development from earliest times and includes a collection of vehicles ranging from horse-drawn carriages to lorries. A working woollen mill has been brought to the museum from Neath.
* The Egypt Centre on the University of Wales Swansea Campus has the largest collection of Eygyptology in Wales.
* The Ceri Richards Gallery, also on the University Campus, hosts touring exhibitions.
* The Dylan Thomas Centre in Somerset Place is a celebration of the life of this Welsh poet. It hosts a Dylan Thomas Festival in October and November as well as other events.
* The Glyn Vivian Art Gallery, in Alexandra Road, puts on temporary exhibitions although there are excellent permanent collections of Swansea and Nantgarw china and works by Welsh artists like Augustus John.

Swansea’s History

In the Middle Ages Swansea’s economy developed around coal mining and shipbuilding. It also gained importance as a port until, in the 18th century, it was the largest port in Wales. By this time metal smelting was contributing to the city’s industrial growth which was further enhanced in 1798 by the opening of the Swansea Canal.

Swansea’s industrial base was widened further in 1918 when the first oil refinery opened nearby and the port expanded to take oil tankers. This development as a port, certainly in modern times with deep draught vessels, was despite the limitations of the range of tidal rise and fall – reputed to be the world’s greatest, thereby necessitating locks.

During the Second World War the city was bombed heavily and much of the centre destroyed. Amongst buildings lost was the home of Beau Nash, who was born here and went on to become the most fashionable figure in 18th century Bath. The wartime bombing led to a complete rebuilding of the city centre with modern pedestrian precincts and, in the Docks, a marina and centre for the arts.

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