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Sandbach

Sandbach

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For the German town, see Sandbach in Hessen (in German)


Sandbach is a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

 and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...

 and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth
Elworth
Elworth is a village and a suburb of Sandbach, Cheshire, England approximately one mile to the east. Elworth has a church, several pubs and a few shops. It also has the railway station serving Sandbach and is on the railway line between Crewe and Manchester. There is a canal running to the...

, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock.

Sandbach is perhaps best known as the original home of both Foden and ERF
ERF (lorry manufacturer)
ERF was a British truck manufacturer. Established in 1933 by Dennis Foden, its factory in Sandbach, Cheshire was closed in 2002, and finished as a marque by owner MAN AG in 2007.-History:...

 lorries, though neither company now exists in the town, 12-times National Brass Band Championship winners, Foden's Band
Foden's Band
Foden's Band is a brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandbach...

, the ancient Saxon Sandbach Crosses
Sandbach Crosses
The Sandbach Crosses are two 9th-century Anglo-Saxon stone crosses now erected in the market place in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England. They are unusually large and elaborate examples of the type and have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and are a...

, and Sandbach services
Sandbach services
Sandbach services is a motorway service station on the M6 in Cheshire. In August 2011 it was rated as 3 stars by quality assessors at Visit England.- History :...

 on the M6 motorway.

History


Known as Sanbec in 1086, Sondbache (also Sondebache) in 1260, and Sandbitch in the 17-18th century, Sandbach derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...

 sand bæce, which can mean sand stream or sand valley.

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 frequent Welsh and Danish raids. The town's inhabitants were converted to Christianity in the 7th century by four priests: Cedda, Adda, Betti and Diuma. The town has an entry in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 from 1086, at which time it was sufficiently large to need a priest and a church. 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.


By the 13th century, during the reign of King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 much of the land around the township of Sandbach was owned by Richard de Sandbach who was the High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1230. Richard de Sandbach specifically owned a manor, he claimed an interest in the living of Sandbach. This claim against Earl Randle de Blundeville was unsuccessful. His son, Jon, however was slightly more successful as he won an 'interest' temporarily against the Abbot of Dieulacres only for it to be lost when it went to the King's Bench
King's Bench
The Queen's Bench is the superior court in a number of jurisdictions within some of the Commonwealth realms...

.


The manor in Sandbach passed through numerous families, including the Leghs and Radclyffes. It was eventually bought by Sir Randulph (or Randle) Crewe
Ranulph Crewe
Sir Ranulph Crewe was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench.-Early life and career:...

, who became the Lord of the Manor.

Sandbach has been a market town since 1579 when it was granted a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 by Elizabeth I due to the petitioning of Sir John Radclyffe of Ordsall
Ordsall Hall
Ordsall Hall is a historic house and a former stately home in Ordsall, an area of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It dates back over 750 years, although the oldest surviving parts of the present hall were built in the 15th century. The most important period of Ordsall Hall's life was as...

 who, as the largest landowner in Sandbach and the owner of the Sandbach Old Hall
Old Hall Hotel, Sandbach
The Old Hall Hotel, Sandbach is in the High Street in the centre of Sandbach, Cheshire, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.-Early history:...

, encouraged the farmers of the area to hold a market in the town on Thursdays. The charter also allowed for right to establish a Court-leet and a Court of Pied-powder. The original charter is still preserved, and can be found in Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

; a reproduction can be found in the Sandbach Town Council chamber, which is at the Literary Institution. The charter also granted the town the right to hold two annual fairs, which lasted for two days, and were held around Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 and early September. Today the Thursday market is still held outdoors on Scotch Common, and in and around the Town Hall. Nearby are some wetlands called Sandbach Flashes
Sandbach Flashes
Sandbach Flashes is a wetland west of Sandbach in Cheshire, England. The flashes were designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1963, with a total area of 1.53 km²...

.

Civil war and Commonwealth


During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...

 a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 army swept down into England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, before being forced to retreat at the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...

. On 3 September 1651 Sandbach summer fair was being held and a Scottish army of around 1,000 exhausted cavalry men passed through the town; this army had been under the command of David Leslie. The town was not an easy 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.


This was the only notable event of the Civil War to have happened in Sandbach. As the fair and the fight took place on the common
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

 of the town, after this event the common gained the name Scotch Common.

Sandbach Ale


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 fold in the metropolis."


And about 1621 William Webb writes that "Our ale here at Sandbach being no less famous than that [at Derby] of a true nappe".

19th and 20th century


In 1836 Sandbach silk mills employed 554 people, including 98 boys and girls under 12 years old.
In 1801 the population was 1844, by 1851 this had reached 4659. Sandbach became a civil parish in 1866. The records from 1901 show a population of 5568. The Sandbach Corn Mill was a three-story brick building built in the late 19th century, on what is now Mill Hill Lane.

In 1936 parts of the area of Bradwall, all of Elton and Wheelock were added, significantly increasing the parishes size. The Hamlets transferred from Bradwall were Boothlane Head, Brickhouses, Ettiley Heath, Forge Fields, Hindheath, Elworth and Marsh Green. By 1951 the population had reached 9253. In 1933 the ERF lorry company was founded

Second World War


During Warship Week in December 1941 Sandbach adopted HMS Vimiera
HMS Vimiera
Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Vimiera, an alternative spelling of Vimeiro in Portugal, site of the Battle of Vimeiro. A third ship was planned, but was later renamed:...

 as its affiliated ship. Sadly the association was short lived as the Vimiera was lost on the 9th of January 1942 when HMS Vimiera under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Angus Alexander Mackenzie, RNR, was sunk by a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 in the Thames estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...

 off East Spile Buoy on 9 January 1942. with the loss of 96 hands.

Governance



Sandbach hosts the administrative headquarters for Cheshire East Council. For the Cheshire East unitary authority elections the town is divided into two wards.

From 1875 until 1894 Sandbach was governed by Sandbach Urban Sanitary District. Between 1894 and 1974 the town was governed by Sandbach Urban District Council. In 1974 it was merged with other urban and rural councils to form Congleton Borough Council. Congleton Borough Council was dissolved on 31 March 2009, with the new authority Cheshire East taking over its responsibilities and those of Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council was a County Council, of the second highest level of United Kingdom Government for the residents of Cheshire. Founded in 1889, it ceased to exist on 1 April 2009, when it and the district councils in Cheshire were replaced by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and...

 on 1 April 2009.

Sandbach has a Town Council and youth council. The town council has jurisdiction over the parish of Sandbach, not just the town. All meetings are held in the Literary Institution in Sandbach. Sandbach is a Fairtrade Town
Fairtrade Town
Fairtrade Town is a status awarded by a recognized Fairtrade certification body describing an area which is committed to the promotion of Fairtrade certified goods...



For the purposes of the town council elections Sandbach is divided into three wards: North, East, and West ward, and town councillors are elected for terms of four years.

A partnership of groups forms the Sandbach Partnership, which is part of the South East Cheshire Enterprise (SECE).

Constituencies


The town is in the Congleton constituency
Congleton (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...

 and the current MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 is Fiona Bruce
Fiona Bruce (politician)
Fiona Claire Bruce is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Congleton, elected at the 2010 general election....

. Before the 2010 General Election the town's MP was Ann Winterton
Ann Winterton
Jane Ann, Lady Winterton is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Congleton from 1983 to 2010...

, who served the constituency since 1983. For the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 it is in the North West Constituency
North West England (European Parliament constituency)
North West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For the 2009 elections it elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.-Boundaries:...

. Before its current constituency Sandbach has been part of five other constituencys South Cheshire from 1832 to 1867, Mid Cheshire from 1868 to 1885, Crewe from 1885 to 1948, Knutsford from 1949 to 1954 and Crewe from 1955 to 1974.

Geography


As with most of the United Kingdom, Chester has an oceanic climate.
The distance from London to Sandbach is 171 miles (275.2 km). The nearest large town is Crewe, which is six miles (10 km) to the south-west by road and can be reached either via the A534 Wheelock/Haslington bypass or via Winterley
Winterley
Winterley and Wheelock Heath are two small, adjoining, villages in the civil parish of Haslington, Cheshire, England. A small part of Wheelock Heath is in the town and civil parish of Sandbach.-Geography:...

 and Haslington
Haslington
Haslington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies about 2 miles north-east of the much larger railway town of Crewe and approximately 4 miles south of Sandbach...

. The nearest city is Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

 in the neighbouring county of Staffordshire, approximately 15 miles (24.1 km) away by road. The town is served by the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

, junction 17 and Sandbach Station on the Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

 to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 mainline.

Sandbach Crosses

For the main article, see: Sandbach Crosses
Sandbach Crosses
The Sandbach Crosses are two 9th-century Anglo-Saxon stone crosses now erected in the market place in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England. They are unusually large and elaborate examples of the type and have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and are a...


Sandbach has an important historical feature on the cobbled market square, two Saxon Crosses
Sandbach Crosses
The Sandbach Crosses are two 9th-century Anglo-Saxon stone crosses now erected in the market place in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England. They are unusually large and elaborate examples of the type and have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and are a...

 that were reportedly built in the 7th, 8th or 9th century. The crosses are Scheduled Ancient Monuments. A plaque near the crosses reads:
Saxon crosses completed in the 9th century to commemorate the advent of Christianity in this Kingdom of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...

 about AD 653 in the reign of the Saxon king Penda
Penda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...

. They were restored in 1816 by Sir John Egerton after destruction by iconoclasts.

Listed Buildings


Sandbach is also home to many listed buildings, the buildings include Sandbach School
Sandbach School
Founded in 1677, Sandbach School has been located on Crewe Road in Sandbach, Cheshire for almost 150 years.It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers...

, St Mary's Church, Sandbach
St Mary's Church, Sandbach
St Mary's Church, Sandbach is in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...

 and the Old Hall Hotel, Sandbach
Old Hall Hotel, Sandbach
The Old Hall Hotel, Sandbach is in the High Street in the centre of Sandbach, Cheshire, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.-Early history:...

. 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 architect Sir George Gilbert Scott; he designed Sandbach Literary Institution, Sandbach School, St John's Sandbach Heath and the Almshouses. He also restored St Mary's Church.

The town has Methodist, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

, Anglican, and Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 churches.

Economy


Sandbach is probably best known as the original home of both Foden and ERF
ERF (lorry manufacturer)
ERF was a British truck manufacturer. Established in 1933 by Dennis Foden, its factory in Sandbach, Cheshire was closed in 2002, and finished as a marque by owner MAN AG in 2007.-History:...

 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
Foden's Band
Foden's Band is a brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandbach...

, originally created for employees, is still based in Sandbach.

Sandbach has been a market town since 1579 when it was granted a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 by Elizabeth I. Today the Thursday market is still held outdoors on Scotch Common, and in and around the Town Hall. There is also a Farmers' Market which takes place on the second Saturday of each calendar month. There are a number of shops and bars concentrated in the town centre.

Sandbach is now in large part a dormitory town for the adjacent conurbations of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

 and the Potteries. A large number of people work at Cheshire East Council, which has its headquarters at Westfields. There is light industry, manufcturing and warehouses at Millbuck Industrial Area.

Transport


The town is served by Sandbach railway station
Sandbach railway station
Sandbach railway station serves the town of Sandbach in Cheshire, England. The station is 8 km north east of Crewe on the Crewe to Manchester Line....

, on the Crewe to Manchester Line, with services operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

 to and from as far north as Deansgate
Deansgate railway station
Deansgate is a railway station in Manchester city centre, England. It is situated approximately west of Manchester Piccadilly in the Castlefield area, at the junction of Deansgate and Whitworth Street West....

 although there is a branch line north of the station leading to Northwich
Northwich railway station
Northwich railway station serves the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England. The station has two platforms and is located on the Mid-Cheshire Line.-Services:...

 which is mainly used by freight traffic and express passenger trains heading to Chester
Chester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...

 while the North Wales Coast Line
North Wales Coast Line
The North Wales Coast Line is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. Virgin Trains consider their services along it to be a spur of the West Coast Main Line. The first section from Crewe to Chester was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly...

 is unavailable between the city and Crewe, although some organisations have been campaigning for a local passenger service between the two stations. The station itself is located to the west of the town in Elworth
Elworth
Elworth is a village and a suburb of Sandbach, Cheshire, England approximately one mile to the east. Elworth has a church, several pubs and a few shops. It also has the railway station serving Sandbach and is on the railway line between Crewe and Manchester. There is a canal running to the...

.

Pressure of road traffic going from Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

 to Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

 has forced the building of a bypass
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....

 for Sandbach, Wheelock
Wheelock (Cheshire)
Wheelock is a long village in the civil parish of Sandbach which is in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is south of Sandbach on the road to Crewe...

, Wheelock Heath, Winterley, and Haslington for the A534. This is largely due to the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

 which has a junction (J17) at Sandbach, which is close to the RoadChef
RoadChef
Roadchef is a company which operates twenty motorway service areas in the UK. Behind Moto and Welcome Break, it is the third largest motorway service area operator .-History:...

 service station
Sandbach services
Sandbach services is a motorway service station on the M6 in Cheshire. In August 2011 it was rated as 3 stars by quality assessors at Visit England.- History :...

.

Local bus services are provided by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...

 and D&G Bus and Coach.

Public services


In Sandbach water services are provided by United Utilities
United Utilities
United Utilities Group PLC is the UK's largest listed water business. The Group owns and manages the regulated water and waste water network in the north west England, through it subsidiary United Utilities Water PLC , which is responsible for the vast majority of the group's assets and...

. 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 is Leighton Hospital
Leighton Hospital
Leighton Hospital is a hospital located in the town of Crewe in the county of Cheshire, England. Together with Victoria Infirmary, Northwich, it forms part of the Mid Cheshire Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust.-Level of care:...

 in Crewe. Sandbach is served by the North West Ambulance Service
North West Ambulance Service
The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust was formed on 1 July 2006 as part of Health Minister Lord Warner's plans to reduce the number of NHS ambulance service trusts operating in the United Kingdom....

. Policing is provided by Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of with a population of roughly 1 million.The Chief Constable of the...

. Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service runs the fire station in the town.

Primary schools


The following primary schools are in Sandbach Town and Civil Parish.
  • Sandbach Community Primary School
  • Offley Primary School
  • Sandbach Heath St John's CE Primary School

Secondary schools


Sandbach School
Sandbach School
Founded in 1677, Sandbach School has been located on Crewe Road in Sandbach, Cheshire for almost 150 years.It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers...

 was founded as a parish charity school for boys in 1677. Now it is an independent comprehensive boys school, with charitable status, funded by Cheshire Local Education Authority but controlled by a board of governors. The school's motto is Ut Severis Seges meaning approximately "what you sow, so shall you reap" though literally meaning "You sow in order to reap". The school has about 2000 pupils, with over 200 in the Sixth Form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...

, and is still growing. On 4 September 2006 the school officially became a 'Specialist Arts College', this is partly due to the success of the school's theatre company (made up of its pupils and occasionally staff). This change has had an impact on the ethos of the school, with a more direct focus on art, music, dance and cross-curricular arts.

Within Sandbach there is also a girls comprehensive school, Sandbach High
Sandbach High School & Sixth Form College
Sandbach High School & Sixth Form College Sports College is a comprehensive Foundation School with specialisms in Languages, Sport and Applied Learning. It is a Lead Practitioner in a Leading Edge Partnership and a Training School...

. It was originally the town's mixed Secondary Modern when Sandbach School
Sandbach School
Founded in 1677, Sandbach School has been located on Crewe Road in Sandbach, Cheshire for almost 150 years.It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers...

 served as the boys grammar school, but has been a single-sex comprehensive since 1979.

Cadets


1873 (Sandbach) Sqn is the local squadron of the Air Training Corp. Founded in 1952, it is part of Staffordshire Wing and the West Midlands Reserve Forces. Sandbach Army Cadet Force
Army Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force is a British youth organisation that offers progressive training in a multitude of the subjects from military training to adventurous training and first aid, at the same time as promoting achievement, discipline, and good citizenship, to boys and girls aged 12 to 18 and 9...

 is based in the Old TA Centre. Sandbach Fire Station Cadets consists of around 20 young people and meet every Tuesday evening. The Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...

 (CCF) is based at Sandbach School.

Culture



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. The Festival is run by an organising committee made up of local councils and volunteers.

Foden's Brass Band
Foden's Band
Foden's Band is a brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandbach...

 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.

Sandbach Voices is a local choir that was founded in 1947 and is a registered charity. The choir's mission is to bring choral music into the community, and it regularly stages concerts, often in Sandbach Town Hall or at St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, Sandbach
St Mary's Church, Sandbach is in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...

.

Sandbach Concert Series features classical, jazz and brass music, from professional and young local musicians, art exhibition and charity raffle. The Concert Series was started in 2010 by local musicians, the harpist Lauren Scott and saxophonist and award-winning composer Andy Scott.

At the end of November every year the Christmas lights are turned on by the chairman of the town council.

Media


Five local newspapers are distributed in Sandbach: the Chronicle (Sandbach edition), published on Wednesdays, the Sandbach Chronicle on Thursdays, Crewe Guardian on Thursdays, the South Cheshire Advertiser, and the daily Sentinel (Cheshire edition).

South Cheshire is served by BBC Radio Stoke
BBC Radio Stoke
BBC Radio Stoke is a BBC Local Radio station in England, for the area of North and Mid Staffordshire, north east Shropshire and South Cheshire. The station began broadcasting programmes on 14 March 1968 as BBC Radio Stoke-on-Trent....

. It is also in the broadcast area of Cheshire FM
Cheshire FM
Cheshire FM is a community radio station serving the towns of Northwich, Middlewich and Winsford in the English county of Cheshire, from its studios in Winsford, and can be heard on 92.5 FM.-Background:...

, Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...

 based Silk FM and Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

-based Signal 1
Signal 1
Signal One is a British Independent Local Radio station broadcasting from studios in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent to Staffordshire and Cheshire on 96.4 , 96.9 and 102.6 MHz FM for Cheshire, Stafford and North Staffordshire respectively. It also broadcasts on the Stoke "UTV-EMAP Stoke-on-Trent"...

 and Signal 2
Signal 2
Signal 2 is a British Independent Local Radio station broadcasting from studios in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent to Staffordshire and Cheshire. The station is owned by UTV Radio and runs a "gold format" playlist. It is the sister station of Signal 1....

.

Sport


The main local football club is Sandbach United Football Club, an "FA Charter Standard Community Club" which has over 30 teams and 600 players aged from 5 upwards. The club was founded in 2004 when Sandbach Albion and Sandbach Ramblers merged. It has recently completed work with the borough council in developing new sports facilities.
Other local teams include Curshaws, and Sandbach Town, who plays in the Crewe & District Football League, and the Military Arms who play in the Cheshire and Border Counties Sunday football league.

The local Rugby Union club is Sandbach RUFC
Sandbach RUFC
Sanbach Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club based in Sandbach, Cheshire, England. It plays in North 1 West.It was founded in the 1930s, and is an amateur club in a semi professional league....

. It has recently been at the heart of some controversy as the members of the club got involved with ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's Generation Xcess
September Films
September Films, a UK independent television and film production company, is a division of UK independent production and distribution group DCD Media...

 and were seen heavily inebriated in local pubs. As a result many were barred, but the club responded by saying that ITV was selective in what it showed.

The Local Cricket club is Sandbach Cricket Club. In 2008 the First XI won the Cheshire Cricket Alliance League - Division 1 on the last day of the season to gain promotion to the Meller Braggins League - Division 3. Another local side is Elworth Cricket Club which plays in the North Staffs & South Cheshire Cricket League - Championship Division 1. 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.

There are two golf clubs in Sandbach. Sandbach Golf Club is located on Middlewich Road, approximately 1/2 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 municipal course operated by Cheshire East Council. Sandbach also has a thriving darts league - with both mens 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. Sandbach School
Sandbach School
Founded in 1677, Sandbach School has been located on Crewe Road in Sandbach, Cheshire for almost 150 years.It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers...

 offers community sports facilities.

Notable people


  • Sir John Emmott Barlow (1857–1932) Liberal Party politician.
  • Alfred Barratt
    Alfred Barratt
    Alfred Barratt , was a philosophical writer.Barratt was the eldest son of Mr. James Barratt, solicitor, was born at Heald Grove, Manchester, on 12 July 1844. He showed extraordinary precocity; he could pick out all the letters of the alphabet when twelve months old; and at three he knew by heart a...

     (1844–1881), philosophical writer, went to school in Sandbach.
  • Derek Macintosh "Blaster" Bates
    Blaster Bates
    Blaster Bates was the name used by Derek Macintosh Bates , an English explosives and demolition expert and raconteur, who was born in Crewe. He made a series of sound recordings from the 1960s to 1980s, recounting bizarre and funny experiences from his long career, and tales of his hobbies of...

      (1923–2006) demolition expert.
  • Philip Dunkley
    Philip Dunkley
    Philip Dunkley was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman who played for Cheshire. He was born in Sandbach, Cheshire....

     (b.1951) English cricketer.
  • Yvette Fielding
    Yvette Fielding
    Yvette Fielding is a British broadcaster, producer and actress. She is best known for being the presenter of the TV shows Blue Peter, Most Haunted and Ghosthunting With....-Early life and career:...

     (b.1968) TV presenter, lives near Sandbach.
  • David Eastwood
    David Eastwood
    Professor David Stephen Eastwood is a British academic who became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham on 13 April 2009, taking over from Professor Michael Sterling upon the latter's retirement. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England ,...

     (b.1959) Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, was educated at Sandbach School.
  • Edwin Foden (1841–1911), vehicle manufacturer.
  • Sir George Ernest Haynes (1902–1983) director of the National Council of Social Service
    National Council of Social Service
    The National Council of Social Service is a statutory board governed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports of the Singapore government....

    , educated at Sandbach School.
  • Samuel Henshall (1764/5–1807), philologist, baptized in Sandbach.
  • Jason Kearton
    Jason Kearton
    Jason Kearton is an Australian former professional football goalkeeper.-Career:He began his career in his native land, firstly with Coalstars and then with the Brisbane Lions...

     (former Crewe Alexandra and Everton goalkeeper) lived in the Wheelock area during his Crewe career.
  • Charles Kelly
    Charles Kelly (footballer)
    Charles Kelly was a footballer who played in the Football League for Tranmere Rovers and Stoke. He made twenty seven appearances for Stoke.-References:...

     (1894) footballer for Tranmere Rovers and Stoke.
  • George William Latham
    George William Latham
    George William Latham was an English landowner and barrister and a Liberal politician.Latham was born in London, the son of John Latham of Bradwall Hall, Sandbach, and his wife, Elizabeth Anne Dampier, daughter of Sir Henry Dampier, a judge of the King's Bench. He was educated at Brasenose...

     (1827–1886) English landowner and barrister.
  • Charles Latham MRCS LSA (1816–1907) physician, recognised by public memorial statue.
  • John Latham (1761–1843), physician, bought an estate in Sandbach.
  • John Latham (1787–1853), magistrate and poet, buried at Sandbach.
  • Peter Mere Latham (1789–1875), physician, son of John Latham (1761–1843), educated at Sandbach school.
  • Sir Charles Lidbury (1880–1978), president Institute of Bankers
    Institute of Bankers
    The ifs School of Finance, founded in 1879 as the Institute of Bankers, is a registered educational charity incorporated by Royal Charter...

     (1939-46), worked in Sandbach.
  • Fred Mortimer (1880-1953), brass band conductor, Foden Brass Band
    Foden's Band
    Foden's Band is a brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandbach...

    , and father of Harry, Alex and Rex.
  • Harry Mortimer
    Harry Mortimer
    Harry Mortimer OBE was an English composer and conductor who specialised in brass band music.Born in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, his father was conductor Fred Mortimer . Fred taught Harry and his brothers Rex and Alex to play the cornet, and also composition. Later he was taught by William Rimmer...

     (1902–1992), brass band conductor, Foden Brass Band
    Foden's Band
    Foden's Band is a brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandbach...

     musician, Prof. of trumpet at RNCM.
  • Henry Newcome
    Henry Newcome
    -Life:He was the fourth son of Stephen Newcome, rector of Caldicote, Huntingdonshire. He was born at Caldicote, and baptised on27 Nov. 1627. His mother was Rose, daughter of Henry Williamson, B. D. ,...

     (bap. 1627, d. 1695), clergyman, ordained as presbyterian minister in Sandbach.
  • Ivor Armstrong Richards (1893–1979) English literary critic.
  • Frank Roberts (1893–1961) Manchester City footballer.
  • George Roper
    George Roper
    This is an article about the British comedian. For information on the British sitcom character, see Man About the House.George Roper was an English stand-up comedian, best known for his appearances in the long-running UK television series The Comedians.- Early history :He was born George Francis...

     (b. 1934 - d. 2003) comedian
    Comedian
    A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

    , lived in the town at the time of his death.
  • Bert Sproston
    Bert Sproston
    Bert Sproston was an English football full back who is remembered for playing both at international level for the England national football team and at club level for , Manchester City F.C., Millwall F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.....

     (1914–2000) former England footballer who was signed by Leeds United AFC from Sandbach Ramblers.
  • William Steele (1610-1680) Lord Chancellor of Ireland, born in Sandbach.
  • Barrie Wheatley (former English footballer) footballer who had played for Sandbach Ramblers, Crewe Alexandra, Liverpool
    Liverpool F.C.
    Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

     and Rochdale during his playing career.

External links


See also

  • St Mary's Church, Sandbach
    St Mary's Church, Sandbach
    St Mary's Church, Sandbach is in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...

  • Latham of Bradwell, family line whose seat was Bradwall Hall