author
William Sandys
1792–1874
Best remembered for helping shape the modern Christmas songbook, this English antiquary and solicitor gathered old carols and seasonal customs with real enthusiasm. His work preserved songs and traditions that might otherwise have faded away.
1 Audiobook
Christmastide: Its History, Festivities, and Carols
by William Sandys
About the author
Born in London in 1792, William Sandys was an English solicitor who also built a strong reputation as an antiquary and musical enthusiast. He was educated at Westminster School, admitted as a solicitor in 1814, and later became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries as well as a member of the Percy Society.
Sandys is most closely linked with Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern from 1833, an influential collection that helped keep older English carols in circulation. He also wrote Christmas-tide: Its History, Festivities, and Carols and later The History of the Violin, showing how wide his interests were across folklore, music, and popular tradition.
He died on February 18, 1874. Today he is remembered less as a creative writer than as a careful collector whose love of old songs and customs helped pass them on to later generations.