Sandbach’s Heritage – February 2026

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 Council was in place and a Chairman was elected each year to oversee the work of the council and to represent the town at various events. One member of the Council wanted there to be Chain of office and that was Alfred Price an Architect who was born in Ross in Herefordshire in 1854 arriving in Sandbach with his parents at the age of 13. He was the architect who was responsible for the design of the Palace Cinema on Congleton Road, The Globe Pottery in Cobridge, parts of Sandbach School, the infirmary at Arclid Hospital and the engine house at the Co-operative building in Bold Street. He had also been a member of SUDC for the West Ward since 1909 and was Chairman of the Council twice in 1920 and 1928.

On the 8 July 1929 Alfred Price died aged 75 leaving behind a widow Ellen, two sons Herbert Price and John Rowland Price and a daughter Mrs Martha Kilmister. As part of his will he wrote that his executors are to purchase a suitable chain of office to be worn by the chairman of the Sandbach Urban District Council. It is uncertain when exactly the Chain and Pendant were donated to the Sandbach Urban District Council but on Monday the 28 April 1930 at the AGM of the Sandbach Urban District Council Mr Ralph Ruscoe the retiring Chairman in his speech said “Many things had happened, one of the most outstanding being the Council’s acceptance of the valuable chain of office from the executors of the late Mr Alfred Price.” The executors had gone a step further by having his (Mr Ruscoe’s) photograph taken with the chain and he asked the Council’s consent to have an enlarged framed photo hung on the wall of the Council Chamber. Mr Ruscoe then moved that Mr J.H. Warburton be elected chairman of the Council. Mr T Platt seconded the motion and the motion was carried followed by Mr Ruscoe placing the new chain of office upon Mr Warburton.

The next chain belonged to the newly formed Congleton Borough Council which took over the administration of Sandbach and came into force on the 1 April 1974 with their headquarters at Westfields in Sandbach.

Also at this time Sandbach Town Council replaced the SUDC and used the chain occasionally at local events when the Chairman attended instead of the Congleton Borough Mayor. Sandbach Town Council was at this time now only an advisory body for CBC.

Congleton Borough Council appointed a Mayor to officiate at various events and it was decided it needed a chain to go with it to represent the whole borough rather than Congleton Town or Sandbach Councils.

In October 1976 a new design was put forward for the Congleton Borough Mayoral chain with a ring of stars in the chain and a centrepiece of the Borough crest surrounded by satellite medallions of each of the towns in its area and was designed by Mr Peter Welton from Crewe and Alsager College. On the 2 February 1977 at the Sandbach Town Hall the new Mayoral Chain was worn by the Mayor Cllr Lawrence Yarwood for the first time.

However after a late night invitation in 1980 the Mayor of CBC at the time Nigel Dale took home the Chain and was the unfortunate victim of thieves and among the items stolen was the Mayoral chain which I believe has never been recovered.

On the 4 October 1984 at Sandbach Town Hall, Viscount Leverhulme the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire presented a new Mayoral Chain and badge of office to the Congleton Borough Mayor Cllr Ron Tomlinson. Made of silver links with a rock crystal at its base point surrounded by a four inch diameter gold base it was a simple replacement for the lost chain.

On the 1 April 2009 Congleton Borough Council was dissolved and incorporated into the new area of Cheshire East which appointed its own Mayor. Sandbach was reinstated as a Council with power and the ability to appoint its own Mayor. The last Chairman of Sandbach Town Council was Elsie Alcock who on the 11 May 2010 at the first AGM presented the first new Sandbach Town Council Mayor Gill Merry with the 1930 chain that had been donated by Alfred Price completing the circle of the Mayor’s Chain.