The document "Historic Sandridge - the story of a Hertfordshire parish" which was published in 1952 is important because it is one of the best chronicles of Thrale history. It gives an insight into the bygone times in which Thrale families used to live, and includes useful information about the history of many Thrale family members. It is reproduced here with the kind consent of author, the late Richard Thrale.
The church was the centre of early Thrale life, as the closest parish church to early Thrale farms.
Robert Thrale held Tuffnalls at Thrale's End in 1493. From Robert the elder descended the Thrale family that became the most prominent family in Sandridge over the next 300 years. John Cussans' History of Hertfordshire (1870-1881) says…
Few yeoman families could boast a more respectable ancestry.
In earlier times Sandridge Parish was bigger than it is now. The extent of the parish as shown on the tithe map of 1842; the St Albans cathedral records of the fifteenth century confirm these boundaries.
All Thrale's owe Richard a debt of gratitude for the authoritative work that he has done to document our history.
William Thrall is the founder of the Thrall family in the United States. He was born in 1605 in Sandridge, Hertfordshire, England and came to the Colonies on the "Mary and John" in the year 1630. The "Mary and John" was a vessel of four hundred tons captained by a man named Squeb and the vessel sailed with 180 passengers.