Knutsford (GB)
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Knutsford (/ˈnʌtsfərd/) is a town in Cheshire, England, 14 miles (23 km) south-west of Manchester.
Knutsford was recorded in the William the Conqueror's Domesday Book of 1086 as Cunetesford ("Canute's ford"). King Canute (Knútr in Old Norse) was the king of England (1016–1035) and later king of Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden as well. Local tradition says that King Canute blessed a wedding that was taking place and forded the River Lily, which was said to be dangerous then, though other reports say it was the Birkin Brook at or near Booth Mill. The English Place-Name Society gives the name as being derived from the Old English for Knutr's ford or possibly hillock ford.
Knutsford Gaol was built in 1817 and later extended in 1853. During the First World War it was used as a military prison. The gaol was demolished in 1934.
Knutsford was the place in which General George S. Patton, shortly before the Normandy invasion, delivered a speech perceived to be critical of the Soviets, and to have "slap(ped) the face of every one of the United Nations except Great Britain", which nearly ended his career.
After the Second World War overspill housing estates were created in the town to accommodate families from Manchester.
