Sandy, Bedfordshire
Sandy | |
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Bedfordshire and Luton | |
Ambulance | East of England |
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Sandy is a town and
The town takes its name from a low range of sandy hills on the eastern side of the town, which form part of the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge. The main part of the built-up area lies between the hills to the east and the River Ivel to the west. The A1 road skirts the western edge of the town. Sandy railway station is on the Great Northern route between London and Peterborough, with the railway running along the eastern edge of the built-up area. The parish also includes the hamlet of Beeston, which straddles the A1 to the south-west of the town.
The headquarters of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is at The Lodge at Sandy Warren in the hills to the east of the town, where it has been based since 1961.[3]
History
The Sandy area has a long history of occupation, with evidence found for settlement prior to 250 BC.
Sandy is referred to in the
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 half-hundred of Weneslawe contained Sandy and 3 additional parishes during the Domesday survey;[10] before Kirby's Quest (1284–86) this half-hundred was merged into the Hundred of Biggleswade.[11] In 1831 the old Weneslawe parishes were listed as Sandy, Sutton, Potton, Hatley, and additionally Everton.[11] A route for a scenic and historic Weneslawe Walk around Sandy, Potton, and Biggleswade was promoted in 2022.[12]
Sandy's parish church of St Swithun was largely rebuilt in 1860, but retaining some of the medieval building, including the tower.[13]
Sandy remained a village into the twentieth century. The central public space is called Market Square, but Sandy was not a
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.
Governance
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.[16]
Administrative history
Sandy was an
In 1927 the parish of Sandy was made an urban district, making it independent from the Biggleswade Rural District.[20] 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.[21][22]
Sandy Urban District was abolished in 1974 to become part of Mid Bedfordshire.[23] 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.[24] 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.[19] Mid Bedfordshire in turn was abolished in 2009 to become part of Central Bedfordshire.[25]
Constituency
Sandy is within the parliamentary constituency of North East Bedfordshire.
Geography
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
The Sandy Heath transmitting station, a 244 metre tall television broadcast mast, is located to the east of the town.
Transport
Road
Sandy is situated on the A1 which hugs the western edge of the town. The A603 leads west towards Bedford; the B1042 leads east towards Potton and Cambridge.
The original route of the A1 did not go through the centre of Sandy, but passed through the Girtford area on the west side of the town, crossing the Ivel at Girtford Bridge. The A1 bypass was one of the earlier 1950s improvements on the
South of the Sandy roundabout the A1 still follows its historic route through the hamlets of Beeston and Seddington, which are in the parish of Sandy. Proposals have been put forward at various times for a bypass, but none have come to fruition.[29]
Rail
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Past and future rail links
The
In January 2020, East West Rail Ltd, which exists to re-establish the Oxford–Cambridge rail link, announced a new route between Bedford and Cambridge that will bypass Sandy, with a new station 'in the Tempsford area'.
Bus
The no.73 Stagecoach East bus service, runs half-hourly Monday - Saturday between Biggleswade, Sandy and Bedford. No Sunday service.[30]
Sport and leisure
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.
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Television signals are received from the nearby Sandy Heath TV transmitter.[31]
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.[32]
The town is served by the local newspaper, The Biggleswade Chronicle.[33]
Education
Schools in Sandy were previously 3 tier (
Primary schools
- Laburnum Primary school[34]
- Maple Tree Primary School[35]
- Robert Peel Primary School[36]
- St Swithun's CE Primary School[37]
Secondary schools
Twinned towns
Sandy has been twinned with the town of Malaunay in France since 1982,[38] as a result of which the Sandy Twinning Association was also established.[39] The association has also recently developed links with the town of Skarszewy in Poland.[40]
Commemoration
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".[41]
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)[42][43]
There is a statue of
Opposite the church across the High Street stands the Sir William Peel pub.References
- ^ "Sandy parish". City Population. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Get in touch". RSPB. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
- ^ "Dig unearths clues to town origins". The Comet. 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ Page, William (1908). A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 2. London: Victoria County History. pp. 242–246. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "Sandy". Open Domesday. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Sandy Bedfordshire Home Page". Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2009.. Sandy town website, History page.
- ^ "The Riddy". Sandy Town Council. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ "Sandy Watermill". Bedfordshire Archives. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Open Domesday: Weneslawe Hundred. Accessed 23 November 2023.
- ^ a b Biggleswade hundred: Introduction, in A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1908), pp. 201-202. British History Online [accessed 24 November 2023].
- ^ Introducing the Weneslawe Walk. Greensand Country. Accessed 23 November 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Swithun (Grade II*) (1137790)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Sandy Market". Biggleswade Chronicle. 14 August 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "The Town Hall and Victory Cinema Sandy". Bedfordshire Archives. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Sandy Town Council". Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Sandy Ancient Parish / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Sandy: Parish Council". Bedfordshire Times and Independent. 2 February 1895. p. 8. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
The Council held its first meeting at the new Council Chamber at the Fire Station on Friday evening...
- ^ a b "Sandy Fire Station". Bedfordshire Archives. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Sandy Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ "New home for Sandy Council". Bedfordshire Times. Bedford. 1 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
When Sandy's new Urban Council is elected in April, it may, within a short space of time, meet in a new home - 'Boyne House', 7 St Neots Road, Sandy, which was bought by auction on 22nd February for £1,800...
- ^ "7 St Neots Road". Bedfordshire Archives. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Sandy Urban District Council". Bedfordshire Archives. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/1110, retrieved 26 October 2023
- ^ "The Bedfordshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2008/907, retrieved 26 October 2023
- ^ The Times 1 January 1957, page 15
- ^ "National Archives". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Disused Stations: Girtford Halt". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ ""Let our village live again"". The Comet. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ "73 Bus Route & Timetable: Biggleswade - Bedford". Stagecoach. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "Biggles FM". OFCOM. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ "Biggleswade Chronicle". British Papers. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "Laburnum School Sandy". laburnumprimary.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Maple Tree Primary School - Home". Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Robert Peel Primary School". Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School - Home". www.stswithunssandy.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
- ^ "Malaunay". UK Town Twinning Portal. Archived from the original on 3 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "Skarszewy". UK Town Twinning Portal. Archived from the original on 3 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "The F T Bidlake Memorial Trust". www.bidlakememorial.org.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ John Brushe, 'Girtford Bridge and John Wing 2', Bedfordshire Magazine Vol. 15 (1975), p. 59 ff
- ^ "Girtford Bridge". Bedfordshire Archives. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "A Brief History of St Swithun's Church" (PDF). sandyparishchurch.org. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
External links
Media related to Sandy, Bedfordshire at Wikimedia Commons