Tatton
Park & Knutsford
It is not possible to do
any real justice to either of these places in a single 'page'
let alone in a joint one, but these are some of the images from
a recent visit and will convey, I hope, a flavour of place and
time.
Knutsford,
mentioned as Canutesford in the Domesday Book, lies some 12 miles
or so west of Macclesfield town.
The Gaskell Memorial Tower
hanging above the traffic on busy King Street is the defining
image of Knutsford.
...
Designed in a unique style
by Richard Harding Watt, it was erected from 1905-7. The bust
of Elizabeth Gaskell surveys from its niche the town she loved
and wrote about. The stones of the facades are carved with lists,
of her books and of English Monarchs and with quotations.
...
The attendant building was
originally occupied as the Council Offices of Knutsford Urban
District Council but now houses the sumptuous
Belle Epoque Restaurant.
...
Knutsford is short of neither
buildings of character or good places to eat.
...
Narrow streets and alleyways
not only connect the 'Lowtown' of King Street with the 'Hightown'
of Princess Street and beyond but some open into interesting and
picturesque courts or give glimpses of surrounding countryside.
Within 2/300 yards of Knutsford
Post Office you could encounter, from within your car, grazing
Red Deer like this fellow proudly showing his sprouting new season
antlers - 'in velvet' is the apt description of this state. He
and the rest of his herd, together with Fallow Deer live in the
1000 enclosed acres of parkland on the Tatton
Park estate, owned by the National Trust and managed by Cheshire
County Council.
The mansion is still largely
furnished with the Egerton family's collection of paintings and
furnishings and allows a glimpse of a stately home as it would
have been when visited by dignitaries including royalty a hundred
years or so ago.
This imposing neo-classical
portico is the highlight of the South Front of the Mansion and
overlooks ...
the terrace of the Italian
Garden and the formal planting of its parterres and beyond to
the less formal but still landscaped acres of the park.
Outside tables were to be
had at the Stableyard Restaurant where the occasional sunny spells
of the day encouraged a longer lounging.
Across the yard the Carriage
House shows some of the Vintage vehicles associated with the Estate
including this burnished beauty (just waiting for Pugh, Pugh,
Barney, McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble & Grubb?)
The entrance to the Gardens
beckons, however. Shall we go in?
To
Part II
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