Sandbach
Sandbach a market town in
Cheshire, North West
England. Since 1974 it has been part of
Congleton borough. At the
census of 2001 the population was 17,630. The town is formed of three communities: Sandbach itself,
Elworth, and
Wheelock.
Sandbach is probably best known as the original home of both
Foden and ERF lorries, both companies founded by members of the Foden family. Neither company now exists in Sandbach, having been taken over and production moved elsewhere. The world famous Foden Brass Band, originally created for employees, still exists and is based in Sandbach under the title Foden Richardson
Brass Band. They recently won the United States Open Championship.
Sandbach has been a market town since the 16th century. It started with a small market each Thursday and two annual fairs, which lasted for two days, and were held around
Easter and early September. Today the Thursday market is still held outdoors and is sited around the Town Hall and on "Scotch Common".
Sandbach is supposedly one of the most haunted towns in
Great Britain, including a rumour that there is a
ghost of a boy in the boys' school bell tower.
Since the decline in
railway use, pressure of road traffic going from the
Manchester area to
Crewe has forced building a
bypass for Sandbach,
Wheelock,
Wheelock Heath,
Winterley, and
Haslington. This is largly due to the
M6 motorway which has a junction at Sandbach, J17.
Sandbach has one very important historical feature in the cobbled market square. These are the two Saxon Crosses that were reportedly built in the 7th, 8th or 9th century. A plaque is situated on the crosses and mentions the 9th century, so there is some debate about when they came into being.
The plaque states "SAXON CROSSES COMPLETED IN THE 9th CENTURY A.D. TO COMMEMORATE THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN THIS KINGDOM OF MERCIA ABOUT 653 A.D. IN THE REIGN OF THE SAXON KING PENDA. RESTORED IN 1816 BY SIR JOHN EGERTON AFTER DESTRUCTION BY ICONOCLASTS."
Sandbach School was founded as a boarding grammar school for boys in 1677. Now it is a comprehensive boys school. The school's motto is "ut severis seges" meaning approximately "what you sow, so shall you reap". The school and its sixth form educate 1200+ pupils and is still growing. The school has its own
Combined Cadet Force (CCF) This is a cadet force in which all three British armed forces (Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force) are represented.
Its name came from
Anglo-Saxon Sandbæce = "sandy valley-stream".
*
Blaster Bates*
Shaun Goater*
George Roper (
comedian b. 1934 - d. 2003)
*
Sandbach 1651 Civil War Re-Enactment*
Sandbach School
