Sandy
Sandy maps (2 available)
Map of Bedfordshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Personalised maps
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Sandy books (5 available)
- 13 photos on Sandy appear in 4 Frith books - View photos of Sandy
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Sandy and Bedfordshire
Sandy memories
Read and share memories of Sandy and Bedfordshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Bedfordshire below.
Bedfordshire memories
Henry Tingey - Ancester
My great grandfather Henry Tingey, was born November 18, 1819, in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. He was the son of James Tingey and Elizabeth Boniss. James and Elizabeth, and family later moved from Bigglewade, Bedfordshire, and moved Lower Caldecut near the 46th milestone from London in the perish of Northhill. The family of father and mother and two boys and four sisters were in the business of raising wholesale vegatable and garden seeds and were very successful.
In 1849 the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (Mormons) told their gospel message to Henry and his wife Ann Young, (daughter of James and Lucy Young). Henry and Ann joined the Latter-Day-Saint church and migrated to America in 1849. They ...read more here
A memory of Biggleswade contributed by Norton Cook
Working memories.
I was the main weekday driver of the launch photographed during the student holiday periods of 1955-1958. When I drove it, the name was 'Silver Stream'. It was the largest of a set of three electric launches which carried paying passengers for trips of about 40 minutes duration from the steps on the downstream, north side of the town bridge. Typically this launch would carry about 40 passengers maximum. Silver Stream was a magnificent launch to drive, giving a silent drive, almost no water disturbance up to the 6 knots maximum for the river, and had a tubular rudder form which surrounded the propeller. This permitted a very tight turning such that most of us could turn round in places where ...read more here
A memory of Bedford contributed by Mr PC Hedgecock
Swimming in the river at Kempston
Great times were had at the river at the bend as we children called it, we would make mud slides down the banks. What fun we had. There was always a good crowd there on a Sunday afternoon, but now its all quiet, no swimmers, the bend has long since gone.
A memory of Kempston contributed by jackie fleming
39 Mill Lane
The gable end of the house on the left is 39 Mill Lane and Back St starts at the junction over the hill and not visible here. My father built the house about 1935 when he was about 21 years old. I grew up there until 1955 when it was sold and we moved from Clophill for a short time. We returned in 1957 and lived in the Old Police House in The Slade until I married in 1966 and brought my first home in Back St. I have traced my family's time in Clophill from about 1750 until 1980 in a new book which will shortly be available.
A memory of Clophill contributed by paul nichols
Extracts From Sandy & Bedfordshire books
Sandy was originally a modest Roman settlement on the Roman road between St Albans and Godmanchester; in the 18th century the town became important for its coaching inns servicing the Great North Road. However, it is a somewhat bitty town, and the market square is a distinct disappointment. Here, a little further north up High Street, we look west along Bedford Road. The late 19th-century town hall is on the left. By 1925 it was the Astor Cinema, and is now the Roundabout Club, for there is now a roundabout roughly where the photographer is standing.
An extract from from"Bedford Photographic Memories".
Moving south we cross the River Ivel by the Girtford Bridge to reach the town of Sandy on the Great North Road, the A1. The bridge is built in greensand stone, which in Bedfordshire is actually dark brown owing to a high iron content in the rock. The bridge is late 18th-century, but the central date plaque seen here from the north-east bank on the Sandy side of the river is illegible. To the right is the garden of Ivel Cottage.
An extract from from"Bedford Photographic Memories".
The earliest mention of a church in Sandy is in the institution rolls of Bishop Hugh of Wells (c1214), and the font bowl in the south aisle is thought to date from Saxon times.
An extract from from"Bedfordshire Photographic Memories".
The earliest building work visible dates from the 15th century, and extensive 19th-century restoration means that apart from the west tower very little earlier work can be seen. The Church of England School dates back to Victorian times, and occupied a site at the top of St Neots Road until 1987, when it was transferred to its present location in Ivel Road.
An extract from from"Bedfordshire Photographic Memories".
Never a very large town, Sandy owes its continued existence to the strength of the produce market in Victorian England. When the railway came in 1850, it opened up the voracious wholesale markets of London and the Midlands and brought a measure of solid prosperity to the community.
An extract from from"Bedfordshire Photographic Memories".