The Georgian Period 1714-1837

The estate was heavily encumbered, and in 1624 Richard sold the manor to his half-brother, George Digby to settle some of his debts. George was succeeded in 1675 by his daughter, who married Lord Gerard of Bromley. Their granddaughter, Elizabeth, became the second wife of the Duke of Hamilton. Elizabeth and a cousin, Charlotte, became embroiled in a quarrel over inheritance, which led to a duel in Hyde Park in 1712 and the resulting deaths of both husbands.

Elizabeth’s grandson, Lord Archibald Hamilton sold the Sandon estate to Nathaniel Ryder, Baron Harrowby, in 1776.  The Harrowby family remain in residence at Sandon Hall today.

Further changes to Sandon All Saints

The old village of Great Sandon, named in the Domesday Book, no longer exists. A few scattered remains may be visible to the north of the church. Parish records show that the village was still located near the church in 1633, as a meeting of villagers was held in the Blackhills in spring of that year.  Excavations in the 1960s confirmed the site near the church but no evidence was found to date its demise.  From the earliest map in the Sandon Hall collection, it would appear that the date of the removal of the village is no earlier than 1777. So, what happened?

Nathaniel Ryder employed an architect, Samuel Wyatt, to make several changes to the Chancel in 1782. He built a gallery pew above the Chancel Screen with a fireplace at its northern end and a staircase on the south wall. This brought down the Chancel south wall and destroyed the Erdeswicke wall paintings on that side and a Stafford tomb, the top of which is now on the wall just inside the church door. 

The wall was rebuilt in brick and then plastered, and the Chancel roof lowered using rough timbers which were then hidden by a plaster ceiling supported on two carved stone angels.

The bulding of the balcomy for the private pew of the Earl and his family, would seem to indicate that the altar would be on the east wall of the chancel, from 1782 at least.

Ryder and Wyatt also undertook work on the manor house, creating Sandon Hall. In doing so it is believed they created, with William Emes, a 400-acre park. This probably involved the demolition of the remaining houses in the village of Sandon and, presumably, rebuilding it further away from the church.

Historical references

From the Vestry Meeting records, we can see several interesting references to the involvement of the churchwardens in the life of the parish.

• April 1779 the Vestry Meeting acknowledged the right for the Vicar to appoint one of the Churchwardens annually, which he took up in 1788.

• January 26th, 1806, No coals shall be paid for by the Parish but such as are ordered by the Vestry Meeting.

• January 4th, Parishioners shall contribute to the Stone Workhouse for the maintenance of the poor of the Parish.

• April 15th, 1811, (and then at the Dog Inn in Sandon) the Overseer of the Parish shall pay annually to the General Infirmary of Stafford and that all doctors’ bills shall be erased from the Parish Books.

Things to see in the church.

There is a vault outside the east end of the church under the path containing coffins of the family of the Earls of Harrowby

In the churchyard, opposite the porch, is the headstone of Walter Carless, vicar of Sandon, and Ann his wife who died in 1788 aged 77.  Mrs Carless is mentioned in Boswell’s Life of Johnson and was Dr Johnson’s youthful sweetheart.

Her only child married George Hopper of Fiveways House, Birmingham. Their son, Walter Carless Hopper, was buried by the side of his grandparents. A grandson was buried here in 1856, and in his will provided for the filling of the east window of what is now the Lady Chapel with stained glass in memory of his father.  Walter Carless, Reverend of Sandon in 1746,  was a collateral descendant of Colonel William Carless, who hid with King Charles II in the oak at Boscobel.

On the tomb of Hugh Erdeswicke in the chancel is inscribed the initials BH three times, and the date 1727. A little graffiti by a bored Hamilton churchgoer, perhaps. 

The Vicars and Patrons of Sandon All Saints

Records of the Vicars and Patrons of Sandon All Saints begin in the Medieval Period and continue through to the current day.