Sandy, Bedfordshire

The Sandy area has a long history of occupation, with evidence found for settlement prior to 250 BC.[4] Sandy was a Roman settlement, when it was probably an important trading centre and staging post. An ancient hill fort, now heavily wooded and traditionally known as Caesar's Camp, although more commonly called "the sand hills" or "the lookout", still overlooks the town.[5]

Sandy is referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086, as Sandeia, a derivation from the Old English Sandieg, meaning a sand-island. At that time it was held by Eudo Fitzhubert, who is likely to have been the tenant.[6] He was probably also known as Eudo Dapifer, who was a high steward for William the Conqueror, and based in Colchester Castle.[7]

There were two mills listed in Sandy in the Domesday Book, which would have been water-powered. One of these mills is likely to have been at Sandy Mill on the River Ivel to the south-west of the town. This was at the end of Mill Lane, adjoining The Riddy, which is now a local nature reserve. There was a water mill on this site from at least the Norman era. The last mill on the site was built in 1857.[8] Milling continued into the twentieth century, with the last mill buildings eventually being demolished in 1977 and replaced with housing.[9] Further down the river from the mill it is believed there was a Danish camp which was built to protect the Danelaw in 886.[7]

St Swithun's Church, High Street

Sandy's parish church of St Swithun was largely rebuilt in 1860, but retaining some of the medieval building, including the tower.[10]

Former Town Hall, Bedford Road, now the Roundabout Club.

Sandy remained a village into the twentieth century. The central public space is called Market Square, but Sandy was not a market town as such; it was not until 1925 that it was formally given the right to hold a market.[11] A town hall was built in 1906 on Bedford Road. This was a large hall built by a private company for public events rather than a being a town hall in the sense of a council's headquarters.[12]

The town expanded rapidly in the 1970s with the development of London overspill housing between Sunderland Road and St Neots Road. This expansion continued into the 1990s with new housing developments at Fallow Field and Ivel Park.

10 Cambridge Road: Former fire station, built 1882. Town Council's headquarters since 1978.

There are two tiers of local government covering Sandy, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Sandy Town Council and Central Bedfordshire Council. The town council is based at 10 Cambridge Road.[13]

Administrative history

Sandy was an ancient parish. When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Sandy was given a parish council and included in the wider Biggleswade Rural District.[14] In 1895 Sandy Parish Council established a council chamber in a room at the fire station at 10 Cambridge Road, which had been built in 1882.[15][16]

Boyne House, 7 St Neots Road: Council headquarters 1946–1978

In 1927 the parish of Sandy was made an urban district, making it independent from the Biggleswade Rural District.[17] The urban district council continued to meet at the fire station until 1946, when it bought Boyne House at 7 St Neots Road and converted it to become its offices and meeting place.[18][19]

Sandy Urban District was abolished in 1974 to become part of Mid Bedfordshire.[20] A successor parish was created covering the former urban district. The re-established parish council declared the parish to be a town, allowing it to take the style "town council" and appoint a mayor.[21] In 1978 the town council left Boyne House and returned to 10 Cambridge Road, this time taking over the whole building; the fire station had moved to a new building on Ivel Road in 1954.[16] Mid Bedfordshire in turn was abolished in 2009 to become part of Central Bedfordshire.[22]

Sandy is 43 miles (69 km) north of Central London with the county town of Bedford 8 miles (13 km) to the west. St Neots, Cambridgeshire lies 7 miles (11 km) to the north with Biggleswade 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south.

The River Ivel, a tributary of the River Great Ouse, runs through the town. Parts of the town and adjoining land are designated as a Flood Warning Area. The Greensand Ridge, an escarpment which runs through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Cambridgeshire, runs to the south and east of the town.

The Sandy Heath transmitting station, a 244 metre tall television broadcast mast, is located to the east of the town.

Sandy has an amateur football team, Sandy F.C., who compete in Division One of the Bedfordshire County Football League.

An athletics track, located at Sandy Secondary School, is home to Biggleswade Athletic Club.

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Television signals are received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter.[28]

Sandy's local radio stations are BBC Three Counties Radio on 95.5 FM, Heart East on 96.9 FM and BigglesFM is a licensed community radio station transmitting from nearby Potton on 104.8 FM and online. Full-time broadcasting began in April 2011.[29]

The town is served by the local newspaper, The Biggleswade Chronicle.[30]

Schools in Sandy were previously 3 tier (lower, middle and upper) as per the rest of the schools in Central Bedfordshire. However, from 2018 schools in the town have converted to being 2 tier (primary and secondary). Due to these changes Sandye Place Academy (the middle school in Sandy) closed in September 2019.

Sandy has been twinned with the town of Malaunay in France since 1982,[35] as a result of which the Sandy Twinning Association was also established.[36] The association has also recently developed links with the town of Skarszewy in Poland.[37]

Frederick Thomas Bidlake is commemorated by a garden and monument, at Girtford Bridge. It was unveiled on 23 September 1934 as more than 4,000 watched W. P. Cook, president of the Anfield Bicycle Club and the Road Records Association, perform the unveiling ceremony. The rector of Sandy blessed the memorial. The garden is triangular with a wall of local stone on one side. In its centre, a stone reads: "This garden is dedicated to Frederick Thomas Bidlake, a great cyclist, a man of singular charm and character, an untiring worker for cyclists 1867–1933". A sundial in the centre of the garden is marked "He measured time". A facsimile milestone is engraved "F. T. B. Few have known this road as he. London 48 – York 148".[38]

Girtford Bridge itself was built in 1780–82 to the designs of the Rutland architect John Wing (1728–1794) assisted by his son John Wing (1756–1826)[39][40]

There is a statue of William Peel VC in the south transept of St Swithun's Church.[41] Opposite the church across the High Street stands the Sir William Peel pub.

Media related to Sandy, Bedfordshire at Wikimedia Commons

• Sandy Community Website
• Sandy Town Council
• Sandy Twinning Association