Charles Sandys (1786–1859) was an English
antiquarian and member of the
Sandys family. He was an early member of the
British Archaeological Association
The British Archaeological Association (BAA) was founded in 1843 and aims to inspire, support and disseminate high quality research in the fields of Western archaeology, art and architecture, primarily of the mediaeval period, through lectures, co ...
and fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries. He composed several works on the history of his home county,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and the
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
, including: a criticism of
Robert Willis' history of the cathedral, a petition of the cathedral's
lay clerks for higher wages, and a history of Kentish customs.
Early life and Sandys family
Charles Sandys was born on 26 October 1786, to a
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
, Edwin Humphrey Sandys, and his second wife, Helen. On his father's side, he was born into the Sandys family, and so traces his lineage back as a direct descendant of
Edwin Sandys,
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
(1576–1588), according to ''
Burke's Landed Gentry
''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cen ...
''. His mother was the heiress of
Edward, Lord Chick.
The Sandys family later took a prominent part in the colonization of Virginia.
Antiquarian career
While in Canterbury, Sandys became a keen antiquarian, especially relating to those antiquities of the
historic county of Kent. In 1844, he became an early member of the British Archaeological Association, out of an interest in Kentish archeology.
[ In 1845, he presented an impression of a brass seal, from the time of ]Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
, on 23 December. The following year, he published his first book, ''A Critical Dissertation on Professor Willis's "Architectural History of Canterbury Cathedral"'' (1846). The work was dedicated to upholding William Gostling's view of the structural history of Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
, against Robert Willis' "fanciful hypothesis", that the cathedral was almost entirely built in Archbishop Lanfranc's time, after the Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
. J. G. Waller (in the Journal of the British Archeological Association) reviewed it favourably, claiming it "is exceeding useful and will be read with profit by all who feel interested in the metropolitan church of Canterbury", praising it for correctly pointing out flaws in Willis' work. Modern biographer of Willis, Alexandrina Buchanan, has taken a less positive view of the work, declaring that "in reality, it was Sandys who was guilty as charged n making incorrect historical deductions though Willis did not condescend to make this point".[
In the 1846 third Annual Congress of the British Archaeological Association, then held in Gloucestershire, Sandys presented a paper, entitled "On the Celtic of Ancient British Mound, called 'The Dane-John Hill', at Canterbury", on the particulars of the local mound.][ The same year, on 18 June, he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries][ In 1848, he edited and introduced ''The Memorial and Case of the Clerici-Laici or Lay-Clerks of Canterbury Cathedral'', a petition from the lay clerks of Canterbury Cathedral, to the ]Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...
, asking for greater wages in comparison to the minor canons.[
Sandys composed a brief manuscript history of ]Reculver
Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England.
It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent.
Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
, Kent, from the Roman occupation to Henry VIII's reign. This was included by C. Roach Smith in his ''History and Antiquities of Richborough, Reculver, and Lymne'' (1850), and the manuscript is now held in the library of Canterbury Cathedral.[ In 1851, Sandys composed ''Consuetudines Kanciae: A History of Gavelkind and other Remarkable Customs in the County of Kent'', described by his ]ODNB
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
biographer, Shirley Burgoyne Black, as "his principal work".[ In his conclusion to the work, Sandys patriotically summed it up as "conduct ngthe reader to the primeval fountains of historic truth, — to the pure sources of the English Constitution. And thus have we attempted to pourtray, in vivid contrast, the conflicting elements of Saxon liberty and Norman despotism"; wishing the reader to "dr k deeply of the gushing tide of patriotism".]
Personal life and death
In 1808, Sandys became a solicitor, and took up a practise in Canterbury, Kent, which he continued until 1857. Here, he married Sedley Frances Burdett on 27 May 1815. Together, they had multiple children. In 1857, Sandys came across financial difficulty and travelled abroad, where, in 1859, at the age of 73, he died.[
]
References
Further reading
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*
External links
A Critical Dissertation on Professor Willis's "Architectural History of Canterbury Cathedral" (1846)
The Memorial and Case of Clerici Laici, or Lay Clerks of Canterbury Cathedral (1848)
Consuetudines Kanciae: A History of Gavelkind, and Other Remarkable Customs in the County of Kent (1851)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandys, Charles
1786 births
1859 deaths
19th-century antiquarians
English antiquarians
English architectural historians
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
English local historians
People from Canterbury