Thrale history

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Village life was enhanced by various sports on No Man’s Land, where the gallows had been erected in the fifteenth century. Watford beat Hertfordshire in a cricket match by 104 runs in August 1824. In 1829 a race meeting was promoted by Thomas Coleman, a well-known trainer of horses, who lived at the Chequers Inn, St Albans. The King’s horse won the Gorhambury Stakes, but the meeting was not a financial success. A two-day steeplechase meeting was held in the middle of May, 1833, and at the end of that month a dreadful fight took place in which Deaf Burke knocked out Simon Byrne, the champion of Ireland, in the ninety-ninth round. They were fighting for three hours and sixteen minutes. Mr. Byrne died four days later, so Mr. Burke and his seconds were tried for manslaughter, but they avoided any penalty as it could not be proved that death was caused by the injuries sustained in the fight. Such was the life of the Sandridge villagers in the nineteenth century.

Another pastime indulged in from time to time was walking round the edge of the parish. This is for some reason known as beating the bounds. It happened in 1720 and 1727 when quantities of beer were consumed at the expense of the rate-payers. In 1778 the Lord of the Manor paid six pounds towards the expenses. In 1899 they took two days to cover the seventeen miles; This was because William Paul, aged 78, insisted on joining the party and walking the whole way except for one mile. On this occasion the chairman of the Parish Council rode a horse. The Sandridge magazine commented: "May 1. The Parish Bounds were beaten; they were none the worse. The School children had a holiday; they were none the better". An attempt to revive the custom in 1949 gained little support, but a few people walked round the much smaller civil parish.

After the death of Robert Welton, Charles Bourchier was instituted as vicar of Sandridge. He was a native of the place, having been born at Sandridge Lodge in Marshalswick Park; he had as his godparents a Duchess, an Earl and a Baronet. To this young man was committed the care of the people of Sandridge for forty-nine years. In his first year as vicar he baptised two infants, and that was about all he ever did in the village. The best that can be said for him is that he provided Sandridge with a succession of hardworking curates who took their duties seriously. These poor men had to live in a house with an open cess-pit under one of the rooms.¹ One of these curates was Thomas Henry Winbolt, who came to Sandridge in 1847. His work for the school and for the safety of the village has been mentioned. During his twenty-five years in the parish he prepared and presented 250 people for confirmation. Shortly before his departure he was specially commended by the Chief Constable of Hertfordshire, who said that it was chiefly due to his work that Sandridge was almost free from detected crime.

It was during the curacy of William Ryland that it was decided to replace the church tower which had fallen down in 1693. The parish officers, with others supporting them, decided in 1836 that a new tower should be built. Unfortunately, they tried to save money by dispensing with the services of an architect and by employing only an incompetent builder, Mr. Hall of Hatfield, who

Footnotes

1. Sandridge Magazine, Vol.1, p.37.↩︎