| Sandbach |
Article Index for Sandbach |
Limousines in Sandbach |
Articles about Sandbach |
Website Links For Sandbach |
Information AboutSandbach |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SANDBACH | |
| towns in cheshire | |
| civil parishes in congleton, cheshire | |
| market towns in england | |
Sandbach is a market town and Civil Parish within the Congleton Borough of Cheshire , England . The civil parish contains three settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth , Ettiley Heath 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's Richardson Brass Band . They recently won the United States Open Championship. HISTORY Toponymy Its name came from Anglo-Saxon ''Sandbæce'' = "sandy valley-stream". Early history 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''. Nearby are some wetlands called Sandbach Flashes . LANDMARKS Sandbach has two very important historical features in the cobbled market square. These are the 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: TRANSPORT Since the decline in Railway use, 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 A533 . This is largely due to the M6 Motorway which has a junction (J17) at Sandbach, which is close to the eponymous RoadChef Service Station . Local transport is provided by Arriva and First PMT (Potteries). EDUCATION 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" though literally meaning "You sow in order to 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. SANDBACH PLAYERS Sandbach Players were a community theatre company formed in 1946 and which performed regularly up to 2007. The productions started with 'Without the Prince' performed at the Town Hall, where all productions were held up until 1977 . In 1977 the society acquired a building in the town which became 'The Little Theatre' where productions were then held. A period of great prosperity followed and the 'House Full' sign was put to frequent use. However, in 1992, the society were forced to leave the building after a survey revealed dry rot. Far from being despondent, the society bounced back to perform John Chapman's 'Dry Rot' at Sandbach School. The school was their home until 2005 when Sandbach Players returned to Sandbach Town Hall where all productions were staged. Sandbach Players was dissolved in June 2007 following ever-increasing difficulty in obtaining cast and crew members. NOTABLE PEOPLE
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|