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Knutsford Services is a
motorway service station Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...
on the M6 in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, England.


History

The headquarters of Tarmac for the 15-mile North Cheshire M6 section was at Over Tabley. Work on the Cheshire motorway section started on Wednesday 28 June 1961, officially by Sir Wesley Emberton, from junctions 18 to 20.


Construction

The contract was awarded to
Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including M ...
on Friday 29 September 1961, for 12 acres, with 48 petrol pumps. It was the second service area awarded to Rank. There would be two 75-seat transport cafes on either side for truckers; one would be open 24 hrs, the other from 7 am to midnight. The main catering would be on the bridge, with a 90-seat restaurant, and a 96-seat cafeteria. Truckers' meals would cost 4 shillings; the truckers' menu was formed in consultation with the
TGWU The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900,000 members (a ...
. There would be parking for 96 trucks and 300 cars. Work on the restaurant began on 29 September 1962, to open in August 1963.


Food

* Cheshire Grill, waitress service, from 7.30am to 10.30pm, with five types of steak,
croissant A croissant (, ) is a French cuisine, French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, ''viennoiserie'' pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian cuisine, Austrian ''Kifli, ...
and
brioche Brioche (, also , , ) is a bread of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. Chef Joël Robuchon described it as "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and e ...
at breakfast * Bridge Buffet, same hours * Knutsford cafe, 24 hrs


Opening

The M6 section opened on Friday 15 November 1963 from Hanchurch to Lymm. The motorway section was officially opened at 12 noon from the Knutsford restaurant, with the
Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
Gerald Ellison Gerald Alexander Ellison (19 August 1910 – 18 October 1992) was an Church of England, Anglican bishop and rower. He was the Bishop of Chester from 1955 to 1973 and the Bishop of London from 1973 to 1981. Early life and education Ellison was t ...
and Sir Wesley Emberton; the motorway opened to drivers at 4 pm. The bishop prayed "that drivers would exercise courtesy and consideration for others, and that without fear or suffering they might come safely to their journey's end". Also at the Knutsford opening was the "lorry driver of the year", Joe Dakin. The first manager was Sidney Ash. The site could provide meals for 373 people at once. Knutsford was one of the country's first motorway service stations. As with many services of the time, there are two sites located on either side of the carriageway, linked by a bridge which features a restaurant and shop. Coaches of north-west football fans would call in on their journey to London, and on the way back, occasionally requiring extra police. The services are now owned by Moto. The service station has a very short exit slip road, close to the A556 exit slip road on the northbound side of the M6. Slow moving vehicles are often forced to pull into the main carriageway at slow speeds. The station played a pivotal role in comedian
Rhod Gilbert Rhodri Paul Gilbert (born 18 October 1968) is a Welsh comedian and television and radio presenter who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008 he was nominated for the main comedy award (as the Edinburgh Comedy Award ...
's special ''Rhod Gilbert and the Award-Winning Mince Pie''. The
Cheshire Police Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Cheshire in North West England, comprising the unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of Halton and Borough ...
Motorway Unit has one of its bases here, situated on the southbound side.


Incidents

In 1965 £2000 worth of cutlery and crockery was stolen. 17 year old Aston Villa fan James Townsend, of Cotton Grove in Longbridge, was jailed for six months at Knutsford court, by Sir Lincoln Hallinan, after stabbing another person with a flick-knife on 16 February 1974. Bricks and bottles had been thrown at another coach. In May 1974 Liverpool football fans were banned from the service area. In the same week, Keele banned Liverpool, Manchester United, and Everton football supporters. On Saturday 12 March 1977, 25 year old Robert Smith was stabbed five times, after an argument with a group of Manchester City supporters. On Saturday 3 October 1981 two hundred Wolves fans caused £300 of damage when they rampaged. In June 2019, four bikers were stabbed at Knutsford Services, which led to the M6 northbound being closed off for some time between junctions 18 and 19.


Location

The service area is in
Tabley Superior Tabley Superior is a civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. In 2001, it had a population of 316.Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East district, in Cheshire, England; it is located south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and south-east of Warrington. The population of the parish at the 2021 Uni ...
, about one mile south of junction 19 of the M6.


References


External links

1963 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Cheshire Economy of Cheshire M6 motorway service stations Moto motorway service stations Transport in Cheshire Transport infrastructure completed in 1963 {{Cheshire-struct-stub