Thrale history

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tower was built, a new root for the nave provided and the whole fabric was repaired and made secure. The whole or the west end of the church dates from this time, and all the nave above the Norman arches, including the six clerestory windows, likewise the pews, choir stalls, pulpit and lectern, and the wooden floor blocks. The mediaeval tiles which were round here and there under the pews were re-laid in the sanctuary. The curious wooden structure above the ancient stone screen was also erected at that time, replacing the solid wall of the original builders. The idea was to allow sound to move more easily between chancel and nave. The organ was moved from the chancel to the west end where it remained until 1914. The restorers were careful to preserve the old Scratch Dial on the exterior of the chancel. The vicar expressed the hope that "the work done will last good, needing only ordinary repairs, for another eight hundred years." During the restoration of the church public worship was carried on in the village hall which the vicar had built in memory or his eldest son. He also did much to improve the housing conditions in the village and to increase the amount of land available for allotments, which are still such an important feature in village life. Of Dr. Griffiths spiritual work his obituary stated: "Every house in the village soon knew him personally and there were few where he was not welcomed." He hated shams; like Chaucers poor parson he was learned, and yet simply practical. and spared no pains to make his weekly teaching as complete and true as he could. All the same this teaching seems to have been definitely one-sided, and the next vicar, James Cruikshank, had a difficult task in restoring the balance. He came to Sandridge without any previous parochial experience but he made up for it by hard work and sincerity. In the Sandridge Magazine, which he founded we often find him deploring the paganism of the village. He left in 1899 and the vicars since his day have continued to alternate between the Evangelical and Catholic outlooks. Since the Church of England is both Catholic and Evangelical this may be a good thing, even though it creates difficulties. Austin Oliver spent too much time hunting foxes, but Hugh Anson, the last of the gentry vicars, who was at Sandridge throght the Kaiser's war, did valuable work, the results of which are still apparent.