This week we begin a new series of articles planned for this year about the history of the villages and similar conurbations around High Wycombe.

Some of these will have histories going back hundreds of years, others will be more recent.

Wherever possible these articles will include substantial input from readers.

One the most recently formed local villages is Sands, which is now all but a suburb of Wycombe. Reader Barrie David tells us how the village came about:

What’s in a name?

Up until about one hundred and fifty years ago, “Sands” as a name, did not exist! In that area there were just two farms, a few farm cottages, a shooting lodge and a flax mill. All of these formed part of the West Wycombe Estate.

The name “Sands” originated from “a lane to the sand pits”, which ran from West Wycombe Road to the sand pits which were situated on what is now the Lane End Road. The first of these sand pits was located just past Newmer Common, on the right hand side of the lane where Lane End Road becomes Park Lane and crosses the M40 motorway. The second was just over the motorway bridge on the left hand side of what is now the shooting ground.

The entire lane was initially known as Sands Lane. The first section was renamed to Chapel Lane when the Chapel was constructed in the early 1900’s. The section from Sands School became Lane End Road when it was connected through to Lane End a few years later.

The sand pits were in operation up until the 1930’s when they were finally closed.

From Hamlet to Village

It was not until after the First World War that Sands became a community in its own right. The residents applied to the War Office and received an ex-army hut which became Sands War Memorial Hall, but this was not a village hall as such.

Just after the hut was erected, Saint Mary’s church was built alongside but this was just a prefabricated building made from corrugated metal sheets with a green bell on top.

Sands as a village did not really come into existence until a new road was built connecting it to Cressex. This is still known as New Road. It was also at this time that Sands technically became a village, because having its own church now elevated it from simple hamlet status. However there was still no village green or common.

It was in the 1930’s when Wycombe Borough Council purchased Castlefield Wood and the surrounding fields, Desborough recreation ground at the rear of Mill End Road School and the green open space in Dashwood Avenue. After the Second World War in 1948, Sands was also given the Roundwood Road recreation ground.

The Village Grows

Sands School was built and had two separate entrances, one for boys and another for girls. Inside, the school had high windows so that the children could not look out and be distracted from their lessons. The children stayed at the school until leaving age. In 1936 Mill End Road school was built and Sands school became a mixed junior school and both boys and girls could use the same entrance at last!

The “prefab” church lasted until as such until around 1937 when St Mary and St George was built in Dashwood Avenue, a mile away from Sands on top of a hill. Building the church out of Sands, it was hoped, would lead to a larger congregation from Sands and Castlefield combined. This was not the most popular decision at the time as unlike today, very few people had their own transport.

It was not uncommon to see a bride and groom and their families walking to the church on their wedding day.

The old church was then put to many and varied uses. It was used by the school to provide classes for children who had been evacuated during the war, and by the Home Guard and the air raid wardens.

After the war, local man Curley Fay ran a boxing club from the hall and Mr Johnson, who lived opposite, ran a weight lifting club. Eventually the prefab building fell into disrepair. It was pulled down in order to make way for road widening and the addition of roundabouts at the bottom of New Road.

In about 1931 work started on Eaton Avenue, Millend Lane, Lane End Road and Gallows Lane (part of which was later to become Dashwood Avenue). And during this time mains water and a sewerage system was at last brought to Sands.

Gallows Lane, which ran from Green Street to what is now Chapel Lane was the least popular place to live due to the connotations of its name! The residents of the newly built houses there signed a petition to have the name changed and the council duly changed the name of the road to Dashwood Avenue.

Residents of four houses in what remains to this day named Gallows Lane were furious when they found out as they were not asked to sign the petition.

In the 1950’s, residents of Castlefield Road also signed a petition to have their road name changed to Pinewood Road, I cannot comment on the reasons why except to say that there were two Pinewood plantations at the time which were cut down for housing development.

For future articles in this series about the history of local villages, any readers who are, or may wish to become, amateur local historians, are invited to contact me on 01494 755070 or by email deweymiked@aol.com.