With its rich heritage, array of amenities, excellent schools and warm community feel, where better to hang your hat than in Knutsford?

This leafy Cheshire suburb, which offers the ever popular semi-rural lifestyle homebuyers and tenants still crave, is considered one of the prettiest towns in the North West and is often featured in the annual ‘best places to live’ surveys. For such a captivating market town that is steeped in history, it is unsurprising that 52 per cent of buyers of homes in Knutsford, according to our dealbook, originate from outside Cheshire.

Recorded in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book of 1086, the town’s name dates back to the reign of King Canute (1016-1035) where it is believed he blessed a wedding that was taking place and forded the River Lily – leading to it becoming known as ‘Canute’s ford’.

Forming the crux of the town, where even the pavements tell a story, is Princess Street (known locally as Top Street) and King Street (or Bottom Street) and a walk through these streets reveals a thriving hub of boutique shops, independent restaurants, coffee shops and a cinema. At one end of narrow King Street is an entrance to Tatton Park which, once home to the Egerton family, now plays host to the RHS Tatton Flower Show and a number of other events throughout the seasons.

Legend has it that the narrow streets were designed by a benefactor who didn’t want people walking two abreast.

If there wasn’t already enough to entice people to Knutsford, its proximity to the M6 and M56 – linking the region’s key commercial centres – makes commuting to Chester, Warrington, Liverpool, Manchester and MediaCity UK in Salford easily accessible. Manchester International Airport is also within close proximity. Knutsford and Wilmslow train stations have a regular service to Manchester and Stockport, linking to the main West Coast line for London.

And – on the subject of transport – if your mode of choice is a penny farthing, then you’ll be delighted to learn that this year sees the return of the Knutsford Great Race, the greatest penny farthing race in the world.

It’s not difficult to see why people want to move to Knutsford. From townhouses to charming cottages and heritage homes to modern mansions, Knutsford and the surrounding villages of Over Peover, Lower Peover, Mobberley, Hale, Bowdon and Hale Barns offer a golden opportunity for buyers and tenants alike.

Looking ahead, the prime Knutsford, Hale, Bowdon and Hale Barns housing market will remain robust as the value gap compared to London and the South East and quality of life, alongside the strength and depth of Manchester’s economy, means there’s more capacity for growth.

We expect the market here to outperform the overall prime UK market over the next five years with total price growth across the prime Cheshire market during this period to be +13.3 per cent.

Further information

Contact Jamie Carter or Tom Burke

Savills Knutsford

In Focus and On Foot – expert views on local neighbourhoods