Historic Buildings
The Armitstead family were vicars of Sandbach from 1828 until 1941 and had a profound influence on running the Town. The first of the dynasty in Sandbach, John Armitstead, brought the great architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott, to design all the buildings with which he was involved. These included the vicarage (now Tall Chimneys at Betchton), the restoration of St Mary’s Church, Sandbach School, Sandbach Literary Institution, St John Sandbach Heath and the Almshouses on Newcastle Road.
The Parish Church of St Mary stands to the East of the Market Square and access is available from High Street, Crown Bank and the Market Square. Sandbach is recorded as having a church in Domesday. Rebuilding, restoration and enlargements have taken place over the centuries but the major restoration took place from 1847 to 1849 under the direction of Sir George Gilbert Scott. The old building, dating from 1661, was encased with new stone and the tower was rebuilt. The 1661 carved oak ceiling was restored. There are early corbels and doorways and an ancient font.
Near the archway of the tower can be found several fragments of the Saxon Crosses which were only discovered after the monument had been re-erected in 1816.
The Town and Market Hall was built in 1889 on a site which was given to the town by Lord Crewe. The ground floor comprises the Market Hall which was completely re-furbished in 1986. There are a number of permanent shops within the hall some of which open daily but the remainder are open only on the Thursday and Saturday market days. The Town Hall occupies the first and second floors and offers facilities for dances, concerts and other functions. There are good catering and bar facilities for such functions. It was extensively modernised and re-furbished in 1982 and again in 2002, the cost being shared by the Town and Borough Councils.
Sandbach Literary Institution was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and erected in 1857. The building had reading rooms and assembly rooms for hire. It is virtually unchanged in the last 100 years and is therefore of great historical interest. There are moves to restore the building to modern access standards whilst maintaining Scott’s beautiful features.
The Old Hall Hotel, opposite the church, is a very fine black and white half-timbered building dating from the 17th century.