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Sandford
Sandford maps
Historic maps of Sandford and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Sandford maps
Sandford photos
We have no photos of Sandford, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Winnersh| Sonning| Twyford| Earley| Ruscombe| Wokingham| Marsh Lock| Waltham St Lawrence| Wargrave| Shiplake| Reading| Caversham| Binfield| Pitch Place| Finchampstead| Henley-On-Thames| Sonning Common| Easthampstead| Bracknell| Crowthorne| Mapledurham| Wellington College| Hurley
Sandford area books
Displaying 1 of 12 books about Sandford and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Sandford
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Berkshire memories
The Butt Inn
Somewhere, not too far from Woodley, there is a pub called the But Inn, it was somewhat an old-fashioned pub where instead of hand pumps for filling up pint glasses there were barrels tipped on their sides and a wooden tap knocked into the barrel. There was a spill bin to capture any drips from out of the barrels. As far as I recall the brewery was Weatherheads that supplied all the beer within the wooden barrels. The Landlord had a Great Dane dog which often would howl until the landlord opened the living room door; off it went straight to the spill bins and lap up all the dregs and would then get so drunk that it would do the splits on all fours. I was roughly 20 years old and that would make it 42 years since I was in that pub. I know that the pub is on the internet and that it looks as if it is a thriving pub. I don't suppose that the beer... Read more
Forest School
The building in the background is the Forest Grammar School which would have been newly built at this time - I think it opened in 1957. The headmaster at the time was "Wally" Jackson, who I had the pleasure of meeting rather too often as he wielded his cane for my latest infraction of the rules!
Forest Grammar School, Winnersh 1957-62
This fine school {formerly Woodley Hill} was opened in 1957. I was lucky enough to be one of 150 pupils who passed the 11plus {God knows how} and thus was one of the first intake, a real privilege although I didn't realise it at the time. I was cursed with the surname BRIGHT which I hated with a vengeance. I gained the dubious distinction of been given the first detention ever at Forest, given for no good reason by an obnoxious oaf of a prefect named Frampton. I have waited fifty years to say that!! The teachers at Forest were simply the best. They took a genuine interest in all of us plebs and I am so appreciative of all of them. Without the efforts of Messrs. Jackson, Headmaster-- Fanning,Deputy Head-- Fulbrook, Art-- Muncy, Sport-- Pettit, English-- Virgo, Geography-- Smith, Biology-- Marquis, Chemistry-- Enos, Physics-- and numerous others whose names I cannot recall right now, my fantastic and interesting... Read more
Music at The Forest Grammar
Music at The Forest Grammar School I taught music at 'The Forest' - 1954 - 1964. Thence to New Guinea (which I thought was in Africa! - geography not a strong point). For those who may be interested my website is at http//: web.mac.com/durquhartjones/Site. Anyone remember our production of 'The Pirates'? I remember the pirate king who was a heavy smoker - a very nice chap whose name was Benson. I remember John Fanning's son David who as a very small boy hit me on the head with a hammer.
Royal Merchant Navy School Bearwood College
I arrived at Winnersh Halt Railway Station for the first time in 1946, aged 8 years.
I had travelled by train from Newcastle upon Tyne with my suitcase and a label pinned to my coat accompanied only by other returning pupils. I was to start an eight year period at Boarding School, then known as Royal Merchant Navy School. The school was run very strictly at this time specifically for boys and girls who had lost their fathers at sea during the Second World War. Many of us were from the same seafaring areas of the country and had much in common.
Walking from the station through Sindlesham to the school and up the quarter mile driveway, through the "Golden Gates" (long since gone) was a great adventure and the memory of seeing Bearwood and the "Chapel" for the first time remains with me still. The chapel was well used as pupils and staff attended every day of the week, apart from Saturday, but twice on a Sunday... Read more
Royal Merchant Navy School, Bearwood
The Royal Merchant Navy School As far back as 1827 the Royal Merchant Navy School was established under the name of the Merchant Seaman's Orphan Asylum to provide a home for the destitute offspring of British Merchant Navy Seamen, with a view of assisting and benefiting them when disease, accident or calamity at sea deprived them of their chief support. The school when first established was located in St George's-in-the-East in London and had catered for 5 boys and 5 girls. These numbers gradually increased until in 1834, it moved to premises in Bow Road where accommodation for 120 pupils was provided in leasehold premises. In 1862 the school moved to a home of its own at Snaresbrooke, in Essex; this housed 250 pupils but the accommodation was enlarged subsequently to cater for 300. In 1902, the school was renamed 'The Royal Merchant Navy Seaman's Orphanage', at the instigation of King Edward VII. In November 1919, the School was presented by Sir Thomas Lane Devitt, Bart., and Sir Alfred Yarrow, Bart., jointly, with... Read more
Lock Keeper
My grandfather, Edward Ernest Light, was the lock keeper at Sonning when this photo would have been taken. He was married to Lily and they had 3 sons, Edgar, Harold and Len, and a daugher Evie. Harold was my father and was born in the lock keeper's cottage in 1912 (and was later married in Sonning Church). My grandfather was very proud of the lock gardens and frequently won the Thames Conservancy cup for the best kept garden. I have one of the cups, dated 1922 and an oil painting of the lock in all its formal floral glory painted around that time. I believe E.E. Light remained at Sonning Lock until he retired to Bournmouth in the 1930s. All 3 sons were expected to do their bit at the lock, including looking after the boats that were hired out and helping with the planting of all the many flowers that helped my grandfather win so often!
