Linking business & community in Sandbach

By Stewart Green Sandbach has had more than its fair share of appearances on both the BBC and commercial television and radio. BBC Radio Stoke and Signal Radio both regularly broadcast at events including the annual fete at the Leonard Cheshire Home with Sam Plank hosting his Saturday show from there or Mel Scholes at the Sandbach Transport Festival. Sandbach was always in the broadcasters’ minds during the 1970’s and 1980’s but as radio became less interested in making appea

By Stewart Green Sandbach was visited by an Elephant. Not the usual type but a mechanical one which children could sit on and were taken for a ride round the car park. After the Second World War there were a lot of Mechanical Elephants in seaside resorts using them to give rides without the danger of a temperamental live elephant. On the 28 July 1950 Frank Stuart premiered his man made walking elephant on the roads of Essex with children on its back in what is known as a Howd

By Stewart Green Formed on the 28 September 1976 when an inaugural meeting took place at St Mary’s Church Hall to discuss the formation of the society with the following committee President Lawrence Massey, Vice President J Rigby and Chairman Cllr Don Broad. In 1978 the Sandbach History Society was founded officially in memory of Cyril Massey who wrote the book “History of Sandbach” and at the first meeting 70 people turned up to join the society. Lawrence Massey continued as

By Stewart Green The first public form of transport the stagecoach appeared in the 13th century but it wasn’t until the 16th century that the national stagecoach routes we know of today came into operation. Why were they called stagecoaches? The answer is because each route was split into 10 to 15 mile segments or “Stages”. Coaching houses were set up to change the horses and also to allow the passengers to have a rest from the bumpy rides and on certain runs they could find

By Stewart Green Foden’s Ltd celebrated its 100th Anniversary on the 7 July 1956 with a Gala Day at their Sports Ground. The day started with a procession led by Foden’s Band followed by various trucks, floats and events throughout the day including sports followed at the end of the day with a concert and firework display. The Foden Motor Works Band led a procession from the Foden Works to the Foden Sports Ground at the top of Welles Street and Green Street, Sandbach. Some of

By Stewart Green You wouldn’t think of Sandbach as a hub of the watch and clock industry but it has a rich history and many of its products are sought after on auction sites. One of the earliest, Joseph Smallwood and his family built Longcase clocks in Sandbach before 1705 until after 1800. It is thought that Joseph Smallwood was an apprentice to a London clockmaker called John Andrews in 1698. John was a clock maker between 1680 and 1708 and collaborated with Edward Speakman

By Stewart Green Behind the church on Chapel Street is the Wesleyan Church Hall. It holds many meetings as well as being the home of the Food Bank, Sandbach Pantry, a weekly Coffee Morning on a Saturday and has various activities including indoor bowling and in the past it had badminton courts. The building was also the home for many years of the Sandbach Scouts, Cubs and later Brownies and Guides until they moved into their own hall next door into what was the Providence Sch

By Stewart Green Charging road users to drive on the roads of Cheshire is nothing new as in the 1300’s Paving Grants were issued to look after paving market places or streets in towns (cobbled stones). In 1555 a Highways act was introduced which instructed every adult inhabitant of a parish to work four consecutive days a year on the roads in their area using their own tools, carts and horses. These road works were overseen by the Surveyor of Highways an unpaid local appointe

By Sandbach Rugby Club Have you ever thought about why Sandbach Rugby Club built its home on Bradwall Road? Have you ever wondered when the club changed its name from the Old Sandbachians to Sandbach RUFC? These answers and much more are all revealed in the club’s new online archive. A treasure trove of material has been uploaded to the club’s website, to preserve the club’s history for future generations. It contains documents, photographs, newspaper cuttings and other memor

By Stewart Green On the 29 March 1926 a Library was opened in Marriott House on Scotch Common. It was not the first library in the town as before 1899 R. A. Tomlinson’s shop in the High Street housed the Sandbach Branch of “The modern circulating library” with the latest novels from the best authors as soon as they are published. Books could be borrowed at a cost of 2d for four or seven days according to the value of the book. The first Library in Marriott House was run by Ch

By Stewart Green Sandbach has been on its own, part of Congleton Borough and again back to being its own council. Over the years it has had a number of Mayoral Chains with the first known official chain being donated in 1930 to the Sandbach Urban District Council. In 1894 a Local Government Act abolished local boards and urban sanitary districts which looked after the needs of the town converting them into Urban Districts. Between 1894 and 1974 the Sandbach Urban District Cou

By Stewart Green On the 17 January 1976 the Sandbach Leisure Centre was opened. It was not the first of its kind that goes back to the 1800’s when the Brook Silk Mill built c1850 had a large rectangular area of water called “The Pool” which was originally built to supply large quantities of water for the production of silk. As part of the site there was a boathouse to the west of the pool suggesting it was used as a Leisure facility. A map from 1849 shows the Brook Mill pool