| Sandbach | |
|---|---|
| Market town andcivil parish | |
.jpg) Sandbach cobbles with half-timbered pubs, the war memorial and the Saxon crosses | |
  Sandbach Location withinCheshire | |
| Area | 10.7 km2 (4.1 sq mi) |
| Population | 21,916 (Parish, 2021)[1] 11,290 (Built up area, 2021)[2] |
| OS grid reference | SJ755611 |
| • London | 158 mi (238 km) SE |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SANDBACH |
| Postcode district | CW11 |
| Dialling code | 01270 |
| Police | Cheshire |
| Fire | Cheshire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| 53°08′46″N2°22′01″W / 53.146°N 2.367°W /53.146; -2.367 | |
Sandbach (pronounced/ˈsændbætʃ/ ⓘ)[3] is a market town and civil parish in theCheshire East borough ofCheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach,Elworth,Ettiley Heath andWheelock. At the2021 census, the Sandbach built up area as defined by theOffice for National Statistics had a population of 11,290 and the parish had a population of 21,916.
Known as Sanbec in 1086,[4] Sondbache (also Sondebache) in 1260, and Sandbitch in the 17th–18th centuries,[5][6] Sandbach derives its name from theAnglo-Saxonsand bæce, which can mean "sand stream" or "sand valley".[7] The modern German wordBach, with a similar origin asbæce, means "brook"; thus, the meaning of Sandbach can be understood correctly in German.[8] In Germany, there are two places and several small waterways of that name (seeGerman disambiguation page "Sandbach").
Traces of settlement are found in Sandbach from Saxon times, when the town was called Sanbec. Little is known about the town during this period, except that it was subjected to frequentWelsh andDanish raids.[9] The town's inhabitants were converted to Christianity in the 7th century by four priests: Cedda, Adda, Betti and Diuma.[9] The town has an entry in theDomesday Book from 1086, at which time it was sufficiently large to need a priest and a church.[9] The entry states:
Sanbec: Bigot de Loges. 1 hide and 1½ virgates pay tax. Land for 2 ploughs. 1 Frenchman has ½ plough, 3 slaves. 2 villagers have ½ plough. Church. Woodland. Value TRE 4s; now 8s.[10]
By the 13th century, during the reign ofKing John, much of the land around the township of Sandbach was owned by Richard de Sandbach who was the High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1230.[9] Richard de Sandbach specifically owned a manor; he claimed an interest in the living of Sandbach. This claim againstEarl Randle de Blundeville was unsuccessful. His son, John, however, was slightly more successful as he won an 'interest' temporarily against the Abbot ofDieulacres, only for it to be lost when it went to theKing's Bench.[11]
The manor in Sandbach passed through numerous families, including the Leghs and Radclyffes. It was eventually bought bySir Randulph (or Randle) Crewe, who became the Lord of the Manor.
Sandbach has been a market town since 1579, when it was granted amarket charter byElizabeth I following a petition from Sir John Radclyffe ofOrdsall, the largest landowner in Sandbach and the owner ofSandbach Old Hall. He then encouraged the farmers of the area to hold a market in the town on Thursdays.[12][13] The charter also allowed for right to establish aCourt-leet and a Court of Pied-powder.[11] The original charter is still preserved, and can be found inChester. The charter also granted the town the right to hold two annual fairs, which lasted for two days, and were held aroundEaster and early September. The Thursday market is still held outdoors on Scotch Common, and in and around the town hall.[12]
During the 17th century, the town used to be famous for its ale:
The ale brewed at this town was formerly in great repute in London, where, about the middle of the last century, it sold for twelve-pence a bottle, but it seems to be entirely supplanted by the Dorchester beer, and the Yorkshire and Welch ales, insomuch that we do not know of any Sandbach ale being now sold in the metropolis.[14]
And about 1621 William Webb writes that "Our ale here at Sandbach being no less famous than that [at Derby] of a true nappe".[15]
During theWars of the Three Kingdoms, a Scottish army swept down into England before being forced to retreat at theBattle of Worcester. On 3 September 1651, the Sandbach summer fair was being held, and a Scottish army of around 1,000 exhausted cavalry men passed through the town under the command of David Leslie on their way back to Scotland.[9] The town proved to be a difficult retreat route, however, as the people of Sandbach and the market stallholders attacked the Scottish army. A newspaper of the time said:
The dispute was very hot for two or three houres, and there were some townsmen hurt and two or three slaine, the Townesman slew about nine or ten and tooke 100 prisoners.[16]
This was the only notable event of the Civil War to have happened in Sandbach. As the fair and the fight took place on thecommon of the town, after this event the common gained the name Scotch Common.
In 1836 Sandbach silk mills employed 554 people, including 98 boys and girls under 12 years old.[17]
Sandbach railway station opened in 1842 on theManchester and Birmingham Railway.[18] It lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the centre of Sandbach. When built, the station was in the neighbouring township of Elton, close to the borders with the townships of Sandbach andBradwall. The small hamlet of Elworth adjoining the station grew significantly after the arrival of the railway. The Elworth area, including the station, was absorbed into urban district of Sandbach in 1936.[19]
The Sandbach Corn Mill was a three-story brick building built in the late 19th century, on what is now Mill Hill Lane.[20]
In 1933 theERF lorry company was founded.[21] In 1936 parts of the area ofBradwall, all of Elton and Wheelock were added, significantly increasing the size of the parish. The hamlets transferred from Bradwall were Boothlane Head, Brickhouses, Ettiley Heath, Forge Fields, Hindheath, Elworth and Marsh Green. By 1951 the population had reached 9,253.[22]
During theSecond World War, in Warship Week in December 1941 Sandbach adoptedHMSVimiera as its affiliated ship. TheVimiera was lost on 9 January 1942 when it was sunk by amine in theThames Estuary off East Spile Buoy[23] with the loss of 96 hands.[24]
There are two tiers of local government covering Sandbach, atcivil parish (town) andunitary authority level:Sandbach Town Council andCheshire East Council.[25] The town council is based atSandbach Town Hall on High Street.[26]
Sandbach was anancient parish. It was subdivided into 14townships:[27][28][29]
Some of the townships hadchapels of ease. Betchton and Hassall were in theNantwich Hundred; the rest of the parish was in Northwich Hundred.[30] From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under thepoor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Sandbach, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so the townships also becamecivil parishes, which therefore diverged from theecclesiastical parish.[31]
The township of Sandbach was made alocal government district in 1862, administered by an elected local board.[32] The board funded the construction ofSandbach Town Hall, on a site donated byHungerford Crewe, 3rd Baron Crewe. The building was completed in 1890, after which the old town hall which had stood in the middle of the market place was demolished.[33][34]
Local government districts were reconstituted asurban districts under theLocal Government Act 1894. The urban district was significantly enlarged in 1936 to take in the Elworth area west of the town (including Sandbach railway station) and Wheelock to the south to the town.[34][19] Sandbach Urban District Council subsequently built itself new offices incorporating a council chamber on Crewe Road in 1937.[35][36]
Sandbach Urban District was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972. Asuccessor parish called Sandbach was established covering the area of the abolished urban district, with its parish council taking the name Sandbach Town Council.[37] District-level functions passed toCongleton Borough Council. In 2009, Cheshire East Council was created, taking over the functions of the borough council andCheshire County Council, which were both abolished.[38] Cheshire East Council had its headquarters at Westfields on Middlewich Road in Sandbach until 2024, when the building was closed after the council moved its main offices toCrewe.[39]
The town is in theCongleton constituency whose MP isSarah Russell of theLabour Party. Before the 2024 General Election the MP wasFiona Bruce of theConservative Party.[40]
The land area of Sandbach has a total coverage of 10.7 square kilometres (4.1 sq mi). The distance fromLondon to Sandbach is 171 miles (275 km).Crewe is 6 miles (10 km) to the south-west andStoke-on-Trent in the neighbouringStaffordshire is 15 miles (24 km).
TheSandbach Crosses are an important historical feature on the cobbled market square: the two Saxon crosses, reportedly built in the 7th, 8th or 9th century, constitute aScheduled Ancient Monument.[41] A plaque near the crosses reads:
Saxon crosses completed in the 9th century to commemorate the advent of Christianity in thisKingdom of Mercia about AD 653 in the reign of the Saxon kingPenda. They were restored in 1816 by Sir John Egerton after destruction by iconoclasts.
Sandbach is also home to manylisted buildings, includingSandbach School,St Mary's Church and theOld Hall Hotel. Many of the local public houses, which were formerly stage coach stops, are listed, for example the Lower Chequer. Many of the buildings of the town were designed by the renowned architectSir George Gilbert Scott; he designedSandbach Literary Institute, Sandbach School,St John's, Sandbach Heath and the Almshouses. He also restored St Mary's Church.[42] The town hasMethodist,Baptist,Anglican andCatholic churches.
Natural England has designatedSandbach Flashes, a group of 14 separate waterbodies,[43] as aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), described as:
[A] site of physiographical and biological importance. It consists of a series of pools formed as a result of subsidence due to the solution of underlying salt deposits [...] that show considerable variation in their plant and animal communities.[44]
At least 225 species of bird have been recorded on the Flashes.[45]
Sandbach has been a market town since 1579 when it was granted aRoyal Charter byElizabeth I.[12][13] Today the Thursday market is still held outdoors on Scotch Common, and in and aroundSandbach Town Hall.[12]
Sandbach is probably best known as the original home of bothFoden andERF lorries, both companies founded by members of the Foden family. Neither company now exists in Sandbach, having been taken over and production moved elsewhere. As of 2007 there is no trace of Fodens within Sandbach, with the former mansion home of the Foden family at Westfields being demolished to make way for a new council building. However,Foden's Brass Band, originally created for employees, is still based in Sandbach.
There is also a farmers' market which takes place on the second Saturday of each calendar month.[46]
Sandbach lies close to the conurbations ofGreater Manchester,Merseyside andThe Potteries.[47]
The town is served bySandbach railway station, on theCrewe to Manchester Line, which is located to the west of the town inElworth. Services are operated byNorthern Trains betweenCrewe,Manchester Piccadilly andLiverpool Lime Street. Trains operate generally twice an hour in both directions; northbound services alternate between trains to Manchester (via Stockport) and to Liverpool (via Styal and Manchester).
There is a branch line north of the station leading toNorthwich, which is mainly used by goods traffic and express passenger trains heading toChester. Some organisations have been campaigning to restore a local passenger service between Northwich and Crewe.[48]
Pressure of road traffic going fromGreater Manchester toCrewe has forced the building of abypass for Sandbach,Wheelock,Wheelock Heath, Winterley and Haslington for theA534. This is largely due to theM6 motorway which has a junction (J17) at Sandbach, which is close to theRoadChefservice station.
Local bus services are provided byD&G Bus.
In Sandbach water services are provided byUnited Utilities.[49] Healthcare is provided at Ashfields Primary Care Centre. The primary care centre is overseen by Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust. The nearest local hospital isLeighton Hospital in Crewe. Sandbach is served by theNorth West Ambulance Service.[50] Policing is provided byCheshire Constabulary.[51]Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service runs the fire station in the town.[52]
.JPG)
The following primary schools are in Sandbach Town and Civil Parish.
Sandbach School was founded as a parishcharity school for boys in 1677.[57] The school became agrammar school for boys after 1955. In 1979 the school became an independent comprehensive boys school, with charitable status, funded by Cheshire Local Education Authority but controlled by a board of governors.[58] In September 2011, Sandbach School became afree school, one of the first free schools to be established in England. The school also contains a sixth form which is open to both boys and girls.[59]
Within Sandbach there is also a girls comprehensive school,Sandbach High.[60] It was originally the town's mixedsecondary modern whenSandbach School served as the boys' grammar school, but has been a single-sex comprehensive since 1979. It now has a college attached to it, which accepts boys as well as girls and offers a more vocational side of education along with A levels.
1873 (Sandbach) Squadron is the local squadron of theAir Training Corps. Founded in 1952, it is part of Greater Manchester Wing, having formerly been a part of both Cheshire and Staffordshire Wings.[61] Cadets here parade twice a week; Wednesdays and Fridays from 19:15 to 21:30. The squadron usually parades about 30–40 cadets per parade night.
24 Sandbach Detachment, CheshireArmy Cadet Force is based in the Army Cadet Centre behind the police station.
Sandbach Fire Station Cadets consists of around 20 young people and meet every Tuesday evening.[62]
TheCombined Cadet Force (CCF) is based at Sandbach School.
Sandbach has an annual transport festival which usually takes place during April. It originally started in 1992 as ‘Transport Through the Ages Parade', and was such a success that it became an annual event; since its inception it has been run alongside the National Town Criers' competition.[63] The Festival is run by an organising committee made up of local councils and volunteers.[64]
Foden's Brass Band is still based in the town, despite the truck manufacturer from which it derives its name no longer having a presence. In 2008 Foden's became British Open Brass Band Champions.[65] TheLions Youth Brass Band and Roberts Bakery Band are also based in the town.
Sandbach Choral Society, formerly Sandbach Voices,[66] is a local choir that was founded in 1947 and is a registered charity.[67] The choir's mission is to bring choral music into the community, and it regularly stages concerts, often in Sandbach Town Hall or atSt Mary's Church.
Sandbach Concert Series[68] features classical, jazz and brass music.[69][70][71]
At the end of November every year the Christmas lights are turned on by the chairman of the town council.[72]
Local newspapers distributed in Sandbach include[73]The Chronicle (Sandbach & Middlewich edition), published on Wednesdays (and now incorporated into theCrewe Chronicle); the Chronicle Series paperSandbach Chronicle, published on Thursdays;Crewe Guardian on Thursdays; theSouth Cheshire Advertiser;[73] and the dailySentinel (Cheshire edition).The Saxon is a free 8-page bimonthly delivered to 7,000 homes,[74] and theSandbach & District Talking Newspaper is a weekly local talking newspaper aimed at assisting the visually impaired,[75][76] with over 1000 issues since the first in December 1986.[77]
Local TV coverage is provided byBBC North West andITV Granada. Television signals are received from theWinter Hill TV transmitter.[78]
South Cheshire is served byBBC Radio Stoke.[79] It is also in the broadcast area of Cheshire FM,Macclesfield basedCheshire's Silk Radio andStoke-on-Trent-basedHits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire andGreatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire.
The local football clubs areSandbach United,[80] an "FA Charter Standard Club" which has over 40 teams and 600 players aged from 5 through to veteran. The club was founded in 2004 when Sandbach Albion and Sandbach Ramblers merged.[81] In 2009 it completed work with theborough council in developing its new sports facility.[82] The first team turned semi-professional and were promoted to the North West Counties League within the English non-league football pyramid at step 6 in 2016, reaching the league cup final and a play-off position in their first season.[83][84] Sandbach Town an "FA charter standard club" who play in The Cheshire league and Sandbach curshaws who play in the Crewe & District Football League.[85]
The local rugby union club isSandbach RUFC.[86] The club is the largest sports club in the area. Sandbach 1st XV play in the RFU National 3 Midlands; many levels higher than other local rivals. Currently at Level 5, they are one of the few truly amateur clubs in the RFU National League structure. Many old boys have gone on to play Premiership and International Rugby. Sandbach Rugby Club offers playing opportunities for both sexes of all ages. Every Tuesday evening at 7.00pm the club offers Social Touch (a non-contact game) to all adults. Touch rugby is open to the public and is free of charge.
The local cricket club is Sandbach Cricket Club.[87] In 2008 the First XI won the Cheshire Cricket Alliance League – Division 1[88] on the last day of the season to gain promotion to the Meller Braggins League – Division 3.[89] Another local side is Elworth Cricket Club[90] which plays in the North Staffs & South Cheshire Cricket League – Championship Division 1.[91] The Club operates 5 senior teams, a midweek team and 9 junior teams at U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17 levels. Sandbach Squash Club enters two teams in the North West Counties League.[92]
There are two golf clubs in Sandbach. Sandbach Golf Club[93] is located on Middlewich Road, approximately ½ a mile west of the town centre. It was founded in 1895 and is a challenging 9-hole parkland course (with 16 tees) welcoming both members and visitors during the week and at weekends. Malkins Bank Golf Course is an 18-hole course formerly operated by Cheshire East Council. Sandbach also has a thriving darts league – with both men's and ladies' leagues playing in most of the many pubs in the area.
Sandbach Leisure Centre is on Middlewich Road and is run by Cheshire East Council.[94]Sandbach School offers community sports facilities.[95]
MCRUA is also strongly supportive of the proposal to reopen the Crewe-Sandbach-Northwich railway and Middlewich station to passenger trains.
Sandbach Choral Society, formerly Sandbach Voices, is a friendly, enthusiastic choir with a mission to bring choral music alive to the local community.
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