Sandy, United Kingdom

There were two mills listed in Sandy in the Domesday Book, which would have been water-powered. One of these mills is likely to have been at Sandy Mill on the River Ivel to the south-west of the town. This was at the end of Mill Lane, adjoining The Riddy, which is now a local nature reserve. There was a water mill on this site from at least the Norman era. The last mill on the site was built in 1857. Milling continued into the twentieth century, with the last mill buildings eventually being demolished in 1977 and replaced with housing. Further down the river from the mill it is believed there was a Danish camp which was built to protect the Danelaw in 886.

The half-hundred of Weneslawe contained Sandy and 3 additional parishes during the Domesday survey; before Kirby's Quest (1284–86) this half-hundred was merged into the Hundred of Biggleswade. In 1831 the old Weneslawe parishes were listed as Sandy, Sutton, Potton, Hatley, and additionally Everton. A route for a scenic and historic Weneslawe Walk around Sandy, Potton, and Biggleswade was promoted in 2022.

Sandy's parish church of St Swithun was largely rebuilt in 1860, but retaining some of the medieval building, including the tower.

Sandy remained a village into the twentieth century. The central public space is called Market Square, but Sandy was not a market town as such; it was not until 1925 that it was formally given the right to hold a market. Sandy Town Hall was built in 1906 on Bedford Road. This was a large hall built by a private company for public events rather than a being a town hall in the sense of a council's headquarters.

The town expanded rapidly in the 1970s with the development of London overspill housing between Sunderland Road and St Neots Road. This expansion continued into the 1990s with new housing developments at Fallow Field and Ivel Park.