Sandbach
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Template:GBdot Sandbach is a market town in Cheshire, North West England. Since 1974 it has been part of Congleton borough.
At the census of 2001 the population was 17,630. The town is formed of three communities: Sandbach itself, Elworth 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, is still in existence and based in Sandbach under the title Foden Richardson Brass Band. They recently won the United States Open Championship.
There are few hard facts about Sandbach's early history, other than Welsh and Danish incursions were frequent.
When the Domesday Book was written, Sandbach or Sandbecd, was of sufficient size to have a priest and a church.
The inhabitants were converted to Christianity during the 7th Century by four travelling priests: Cedda; Adda; Betti; Diuma.
Sandbach has an important historical feature in the cobbled market square: two Saxon Crosses that are thought to have been built circa 7th - 8th century, although there is some debate about when they initially came into being.
The plaque on the crosses reads: "Saxon crosses completed in the 9th Century A.D. to commemorate the advent of Christianity in this Kingdom of Mercia about 653 A.D. in the reign of the Saxon King Penda. Restored in 1816 by Sir John Egerton after destruction by Iconoclasts."
In the early 13th Century, during King John's reign, the land around Sandbach was owned by Richard de Sandbach, the High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1230.
In 1579, Sir John Radclyffe of Ordsall secured the right to hold fairs and markets in Sandbach from Queen Elizabeth I. The market is held every Thursday on the Scotch Common in Sandbach. The Royal Charter also allowed for a fair to be held on the last weekend in September.
On the 3rd September 1651, during the Civil War, a skirmish occurred on the town's Common whilst the September fair was in full swing. Nearly 1000 Scottish troops were retreating from the Battle of Worcester where they had served under David Leslie. They paused to rest but were set upon by locals and market stallholders, who killed or took the soldiers prisoner. The Common is known locally as the "Scotch Common".
The manor has passed through several families including the Leghs and the Radclyffes before finally being purchased by Sir Ranulph Crewe, whose descendant is the present Lord of the Manor.