Sandbach Old Police Lock-up

Overview

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Overview

Alternative Names   Sandbach Town Hall

Nation   England

County   Cheshire

Location   Old Town Hall, near the Old Black Bear Hotel and the Ancient Crosses, Market Square,  Sandbach

Map location   exact or closely approximate

Year opened   unknown

Year closed   unknown

Century of Operation   1700-1799, 1800-1899

Building Type   Town Hall

Remarks   The old police lock-up in Sandbach was located in the lower part of the Old Town Hall, which stood near the Old Black Bear Hotel and the Ancient Crosses in Market Square. Date of first and last use unknown. From 1760 there was a police station in Market Square which may have had cells or made use of the cells in the Old Town Hall accessing them via a tunnel. The Old Town Hall has since been demolished. A new police station, including a house and cells, was built around 1850/60 in Bold Street (also since demolished).

Description: Engraving by W. Alexander, F.S.A., dated 1810, showing the Old Town Hall to the left and behind the Ancient Crosses. The figure of a man can be seen in a doorway on the ground floor of the Town Hall. This was the entrance to the lock-up.

Photo by: Originally published in Mr Cyril Massey's History of Sandbach & District, 1958 (reproduced with permission)

SOURCES

    Cyril Massey, 'History of Sandbach & District'. 1958
  • 'Sandbach History' (November, 2019)

  • https://sandbachwhatson.weebly.com/sandbach-history.html

Comments

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2 Comments

  1. Pat Sherratt

    There was a property for sale in the last few years which was called the police house on The Square. I did walk to the side of Williams grocery and towards the church hall then turned right to find it. At that time, there was a plate on the gate of a yard which said it was called the Police House. The estate agent details showed there was a dinng room which, I seem to remember, was in the old cell on the lower floor. I have been told that a tunnel existed to connect the cell or place house to the Town Hall. Not sure of the true facts but did find it fascinating.

    • Rosalind Crone

      Fascinating – thanks for sharing! We shall investigate further. I imagine making a dining room from an old cell could be a tight squeeze, unless it was a large cell to hold lots of prisoners.

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