Sandon

Sandon is a Village, five miles from Buntingford and seven from Royston, containing 3,943 acres. There is a small venerable Church, dedicated to All Saints, with a square tower at the west end, and six bells. This fine old Church, like many of the Hertfordshire Churches, has been restored, although the old ivy-clad tower and porch still need repair. Before the renovation the Church had become very dilapidated, the outside walls having been patched with brickwork. The interior was blocked up by unsightly pews, and a gallery at the west end positively closed up the arch and window. All this has been rectified in good taste. There are some benches in the Church which probably are as old as the 14th century, and the rood screen is very ancient and interesting, as also is the font. There are a few remains of old stained glass in the windows of the north and south aisles. The Church is peculiar as to the floor, which rises from west to east, in accordance with the range of the ground on which it stands. The three arches on the south side of the chancel appear to have been designed as niches for statues, and are ornamented with pinnacles and crockets. Near the pulpit is a monumental brass to John Fitz Geffrey, who died A.D. 1480, and Elizabeth, his wife; the brass contained the effigies of their three sons and six daughters, and an inscription, portions of which were discovered loose in another part of the Church. Another brass was found bearing the following inscription :-

"Of your charite pray for the soules of Symond Pratt and Jone his wyfe, wyth all their childer souls and all Christen. Amen."

There are two piscinæ in this Church, and a credence table; also a handsome mural monument of coloured marbles to the memory of Nicholas Franklin Millar, a young man who died in 1747, with a well-executed bust upon it; and one with an epitaph in verse, to Elizabeth Morrison. The pulpit is of oak, elaborately carved, and as old as the time of James 1. The parishioners of all classes have assisted in the work of restoration, to which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners also liberally contributed. The Church was completed and re-opened for divine service in June, 1875. The living is a Vicarage, of the net annual value of £363, and a residence, and 7 acres of glebe; patron, the Bishop of St. Alban's. The Register dates from 1678. The population is 810.

There was a Mansion here called HIDE HALL, the site now occupied by a farm house, in front of which is an ancient building, partly of stone, which has an appearance of antiquity; it is now used as a barn or outhouse. Hide Hall was formerly possessed by Sir Reginald Foster, but is now the property of W. R. Baker, Esq., of Bayfordbury.

There is a National School at CHURCH END, and Independent Chapels at RED HALL and ROE GREEN, in this Parish.

Guide to Hertfordshire 1880

Proposals for National School from Then there were two

Books

The three booklets Village Chronicles contain extracts from the Royston Crow newspaper between 1855 and 1920 which provide images about what was going on in Sandon and adjacent villages in Victorian times up to the end of the First World War.

The booklet Then there were two contains very useful information about the history of village schools in the area, including the sketch plan shown above, and extracts from the Sandon School log book.

There are pictures of the Congregational Chapel and Church End, Sandon in Buntingford.

If you know of other books, websites, etc, relating to this place, please tell me.