Francis Richard John Sandford, 1st Baron Sandford, (14 May 1824 – 31 December 1893), known as Sir Francis Sandford between 1863 and 1891, was a British civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Committee of Council on Education between 1870 and 1884, in which role he was instrumental in implementing the

Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities wit ...

( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75).

Background and education

The member of an old

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

family, Sandford was the son of Sir Daniel Sandford by Cecilia Catherine Charnock, daughter of John Charnock. He was the grandson of the Right Reverend Daniel Sandford,

Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh, is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St ...

, and the brother of Sir Herbert Sandford, Executive Commissioner to the Melbourne Exhibition of 1880, and the Right Reverend Daniel Sandford, Bishop of Tasmania.thepeerage.com Francis Sandford, 1st and last Baron Sandford
/ref> He was educated at the Glasgow High School, the Grange School at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and as a

Snell exhibitioner The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to students of the University of Glasgow to allow them to undertake postgraduate study at Balliol College, Oxford. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir John Snell in a will made in 167 ...

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he obtained a first class in '' Literae Humaniores''.

Career

Sandford entered the Education office in 1848, where he was to remain except for short interludes until 1884. In 1862 he was organising secretary for the

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

of that year and from 1868 to 1870 he was Assistant Under-Secretary at the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

. In 1870 he was made Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Committee of Council on Education. He played an important role in the implementation of the

( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) introduced by

William Edward Forster William Edward Forster, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Royal Society, FRS (11 July 18185 April 1886) was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party statesman. As a minister in Gladstone's g ...

. Sandford combined this role with that of secretary to the Scottish Education department and to the science and art department, offices which were later split between separate individuals. According to the ''

Dictionary of National Biography 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 ...

'' the "...work he performed in these capacities was appreciated by statesmen of all political parties". In 1884 Sandford was made a charity commissioner under the London Parochial Charities Act and in 1885 he was vice-chairman of the commissioners under the Redistribution of Seats Act. From 1885 to 1887 he was Under-Secretary for Scotland. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1863, made a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in 1871 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1879 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1885. In 1891 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Sandford, of Sandford in the County of Salop.

Personal life

Lord Sandford married Margaret Findlay, daughter of Robert Findlay, of Botwich Castle,

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

, in 1849. They had no children. He died in December 1893, aged 69, when the barony became extinct. He was buried in the churchyard at his ancestral parish of

Prees Prees () is a village and civil parish in north Shropshire, near the border between England and Wales. Its name is Celtic and means "brushwood". Prees civil parish The civil parish includes many other villages and hamlets as well as the namesa ...

. Lady Sandford died in April 1905.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, Francis Sandford, 1st Baron 1824 births 1893 deaths People educated at the High School of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford

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Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Presidents of the Oxford Union Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...