Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock. At the 2021 census, the Sandbach built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics had a population of 11,290 and the parish had a population of 21,916.
History
Known as Sanbec in 1086, Sondbache (also Sondebache) in 1260, and Sandbitch in the 17th–18th centuries, Sandbach derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon sand bæce, which can mean "sand stream" or "sand valley". The modern German word Bach, with a similar origin as bæce, means "brook"; thus, the meaning of Sandbach can be understood correctly in German.Leo – German→English, Sand and Leo – German→English, Bach In Germany, there are two places and several small waterways of that name (see German 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 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 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, 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, John, 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.Sandbach Official Guide 1970
The manor in Sandbach passed through numerous families, including the Leghs and Radclyffes. It was eventually bought by Sir Randulph (or Randle) Crewe, who became the Lord of the Manor.
Sandbach has been a market town since 1579, when it was granted a market charter by Elizabeth I following a petition from Sir John Radclyffe of Ordsall, the largest landowner in Sandbach and the owner of Sandbach Old Hall. He then 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. The charter also granted the town the right to hold two annual fairs, which lasted for two days, and were held around Easter and early September. The Thursday market is still held outdoors on Scotch Common, and in and around the town hall.
17th century to present day
During the 17th century, the town used to be famous for its ale:
And about 1621 William Webb writes that "Our ale here at Sandbach being no less famous than that [at Derby] of a true nappe".
During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a Scottish army swept down into England before being forced to retreat at the Battle 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. 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.
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 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.
Sandbach railway station opened in 1842 on the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. It lies 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 and Bradwall. 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.
The Sandbach Corn Mill was a three-story brick building built in the late 19th century, on what is now Mill Hill Lane.
In 1933 the ERF lorry company was founded. In 1936 parts of the area of Bradwall, 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.
During the Second World War, in Warship Week in December 1941 Sandbach adopted HMS Vimiera as its affiliated ship. The Vimiera was lost on 9 January 1942 when it was sunk by a mine in the Thames Estuary off East Spile Buoy with the loss of 96 hands.
Governance There are two tiers of local government covering Sandbach, at civil parish (town) and unitary authority level: Sandbach Town Council and Cheshire East Council. The town council is based at Sandbach Town Hall on High Street.
Administrative history Sandbach was an ancient parish. It was subdivided into 14 townships:
Arclid Betchton Blackden Bradwall Church Hulme Cotton Cranage Goostrey-cum-Barnshaw Hassall Leese (part) Rudheath (part) Sandbach Twemlow Wheelock
Some of the townships had chapels of ease. Betchton and Hassall were in the Nantwich Hundred; the rest of the parish was in Northwich Hundred. From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the poor 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 became civil parishes, which therefore diverged from the ecclesiastical parish.
The township of Sandbach was made a local government district in 1862, administered by an elected local board. The board funded the construction of Sandbach Town Hall, on a site donated by Hungerford 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.
Local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local 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. Sandbach Urban District Council subsequently built itself new offices incorporating a council chamber on Crewe Road in 1937.
Sandbach Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. A successor parish called Sandbach was established covering the area of the abolished urban district, with its parish council taking the name Sandbach Town Council. District-level functions passed to Congleton Borough Council. In 2009, Cheshire East Council was created, taking over the functions of the borough council and Cheshire County Council, which were both abolished. 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 to Crewe.
Constituencies The town is in the Congleton constituency whose MP is Sarah Russell of the Labour Party. Before the 2024 General Election the MP was Fiona Bruce of the Conservative Party.
Geography
The land area of Sandbach has a total coverage of 10.7 square kilometres (4.1 sq mi). The distance from London to Sandbach is . Crewe is 6 miles (10 km) to the south-west and Stoke-on-Trent in the neighbouring Staffordshire is .
Landmarks The Sandbach 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 a Scheduled Ancient Monument. A plaque near the crosses reads:
Sandbach is also home to many listed buildings, including Sandbach School, St Mary's Church and the Old 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 architect Sir George Gilbert Scott; he designed Sandbach Literary Institute, Sandbach School, St John's, Sandbach Heath and the Almshouses. He also restored St Mary's Church. The town has Methodist, Baptist, Anglican and Catholic churches.
Natural England has designated Sandbach Flashes, a group of 14 separate waterbodies, as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), described as:
At least 225 species of bird have been recorded on the Flashes.
Economy Sandbach has been a market town since 1579 when it was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I. Today the Thursday market is still held outdoors on Scotch Common, and in and around Sandbach Town Hall.
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. 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.
Sandbach lies close to the conurbations of Greater Manchester, Merseyside and The Potteries.
Transport
Rail The town is served by Sandbach railway station, on the Crewe to Manchester Line, which is located to the west of the town in Elworth. Services are operated by Northern Trains between Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool 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 to Northwich, which is mainly used by goods traffic and express passenger trains heading to Chester. Some organisations have been campaigning to restore a local passenger service between Northwich and Crewe.
Road Pressure of road traffic going from Greater Manchester to Crewe has forced the building of a bypass for Sandbach, Wheelock, Wheelock Heath, Winterley and Haslington for the A534. This is largely due to the M6 motorway which has a junction (J17) at Sandbach, which is close to the RoadChef service station.
Buses Local bus services are provided by D&G Bus.
Public services
In Sandbach water services are provided by United Utilities. 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 in Crewe. Sandbach is served by the North West Ambulance Service. Policing is provided by Cheshire Constabulary. Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service runs the fire station in the town.
Education
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 Wheelock Primary School