BUSINESSES and residents were treated to an insight into the history of the town last weekend, with Knutsford Heritage Centre holding ‘Welcome Days’ on Friday and Saturday.

Representatives from businesses across Knutsford and beyond were welcomed to the King Street centre on Friday, with families attending on Saturday to gain a glimpse into the town’s hidden gem.

Among the new initiatives offered by the heritage centre are bespoke greetings cards and prints featuring buildings as shown on the Millennium Tapestry.

They allow businesses and homeowners alike to buy a print of their premises as depicted on the tapestry - the work of more than 3,000 Knutsfordians.

Val Bryant, heritage centre manager and trustee, said: “Many people who work in businesses in King Street, Princess Street and the surrounding area commute from outside Knutsford.

“As a consequence, they have little opportunity for engagement with the town in a meaningful community sense. Informal research indicates the vast majority are unfamiliar with the Tapestry for example.

“Our welcome day provided a way of rectifying that. In response to the enthusiasm generated, we are planning ways to drawn people who work but don’t live in Knutsford to see the town’s great masterpiece of communal art.

“The town wants footfall. The more the heritage centre can do to project Knutsford’s cultural attractions, the more chance there is for word-of-mouth publicity.

“The more we do to educate people who come to work in the morning and drive off straight afterwards, the more they are likely to spread the word.”

Among the businesses to take hold of the unique marketing opportunity offered by the tapestry was Saks – a new salon opening in Minshull Street on May 10.

Representatives from other town centre businesses including Arthur Lee Interiors, The Real Fruit Creamery, Piccolino, Weightmanns, Cranford Café, The Cross Keys, Tap and Bottle, and Nationwide.

Val said: “The idea is simple – use the image of your business premises as it appears on the tapestry for promotional and marketing purposes.

“The value of this was immediately seized upon by the owner of Saks, the new salon opening shortly in Minshull Street. The centre is providing a high quality digital image of their premises as it appears on the Tapestry.

“It is gratifying to see a business that’s new to the town embracing the opportunity to almost literally stitch itself into the community.”

Knutsford Heritage Centre is also offering greetings cards and pictures for framing of the tapestry’s depictions of individual houses.

Launched at the two welcome days, they are now a standard offering at the centre’s gift shop.