“Sandham Lane is named after Richard Sandham (or Sandam), mentioned in documents of 1589, his descendants being shown in the survey of 1821 as Sandom. The lane was renowned locally because it is suggested that it may have existed in Roman times, and until it was widened for development at a cost of £5,500 in 1973, there used to be a run of stone slabs down the centre of it. They had been hollowed out by the hooved of packhorses that for centuries had borne their loads over them. It is recorded that in 1692 John Cowper, the Overseer of Highways, frequently reported loads of limestone in the Derbyshire Probate Inventory.

From the side of the Woodman Inn the lane continues as a bridle path through the fields to join Street Lane, which in Roman times was the main road to Chesterfield and Derby.”

(Frank Mansey)

It is possible that the original Sandham was descended from a Viking who came from Sandhamn in Sweden. The family apparently settled in the Morecombe Bay Area and drifted into the midlands, according to the research of descendant Robert Sandham.