Wrea Green | |
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![]() The duck pond - 'The Dub' | |
OS grid reference | SD397315 |
Civil parish | |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PRESTON |
Postcode district | PR4 2 |
Dialling code | 01772 |
Police | Lancashire |
Fire | Lancashire |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Wrea Green is a village in the Fylde borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about 2 miles west of Kirkham. Along with the village of Ribby, it forms the civil parish Ribby-with-Wrea. [1]
Wrea Green has approximately 1,600 residents,[ citation needed ] many of whom work at the nearby Warton Aerodrome 2 miles away, where BAE Systems is a major local employer. Uniquely for the Fylde Coast, Wrea Green, as described by its name, surrounds a large common land space at one side of which is a duck pond, known locally as 'The Dub'.
Wrea Green has won "Lancashire's Best Kept Village" award 15 times - 1959, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2012.
A part of the village of Wrea Green existed at the time of the Domesday Book , with the name of Rigbi. [2]
Between 1846 and 1961, the village was served by Wrea Green railway station. In 1897 Wrea Green suffered a plague of sparrows and the Parish Council agreed to pay a halfpenny for every sparrow, sparrow's egg or rat's tail that was collected. [3]
The property at the northern end of Church Row was for many years the office of J. Wareing & Son (Wrea Green) Ltd, a long established farm-building construction company [4] but before this was a sub-branch of the District Bank Ltd.
The large Grade II listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas. The original small church on the site was licensed for services in 1722 and was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester in 1755. This was eventually demolished and on 13 May 1848 the new vicar, G. L. Parsons, laid the foundation stone for the present structure. [5]
It was rebuilt in 1848–49 by the Lancaster architects Sharpe and Paley. [6] In 1884 the tower and spire were added by the successors in the same practice, Paley and Austin. [7]
The church is active, has regular weekly services and is a popular wedding venue. An extension was built in the late 2000s.
The village has a few small businesses and eating places. These include an artificial grass supplier and installer, a hair salon, a construction design services consultancy, a pub, a holiday hotel, sports and conference centre, a tearoom, a Thai restaurant, a shop with post office, a hotel with restaurant and a dentist. There is also the Wrea Green Institute, a members club with a community room. [8] Agricultural construction company J. Wareing & Son Ltd has now relocated from the village centre and the site has been re-used for a small development of detached houses.
The village pub, The Grapes, dates from the 19th century and was previously known as The Letters Inn and The Dumplings Inn. [9] In April 2024 it closed for a major internal and external refurbishment. It will reopen and on 27 May following a six-figure investment. [10]
Wrea Green Field Day, or Club Day, is a large festival held in Wrea Green including a fancy-dress parade, special event, a three-day visit by a large travelling fair and special stalls on the village green. Local children/teenagers are involved in the parade around the Green and the highlight of the day is the de-crowning of the previous Queen, the "Retiring Queen" (from the year before) and the crowning of a new Queen, the "Rose Queen". [11] People with some local prominence usually crown the Queens, for example, the head teacher of the primary school in 2006 etc.
The Wrea Green Horticultural Society is hosting its first show in September 2016 which will include classes, exhibits and a beer festival. [12]
The school (Ribby-with-Wrea Endowed C.E.) was founded by James Thistleton in 1693. A second school was founded by Nicholas Sharples in 1715. The two trusts were united in 1750. It moved to the current site in 1845, when the church of St Nicholas [13] replaced the Sharples school. The oldest part of the present school building dates from 1898.
Since November 2005 the village has been twinned the small picturesque French village of Saint-Bris-le-Vineux in Burgundy. A delegation of Wrea Green residents travelled to St Bris to make the twinning official, but the first large exchange came when, at Easter 2006, 43 French people came to stay in Wrea Green. After the major success of July 2007's trip to France by 40 Wrea Green residents, a return exchange took place in August 2008, when a similar number of French guests came to the UK.
In 2010 plans for a new housing estate, comprising 55 houses on land on Richmond Avenue in the village, were announced by developer Les Blanc Bois Holdings Ltd. Additionally, Fylde businessman David Haythornthwaite announced plans to create the "Greenland Sports Village", featuring a football stadium for non league AFC Fylde, at Greenlands Farm on Ribby Road. Both plans have met opposition from some villagers [14] and plans to build the AFC Fylde stadium in the village have since been abandoned and the proposed stadium has since been built north of Wesham. [15] However, the houses on Richmond Avenue have since been built. A "Save Wrea Green Action Group" was formed. [16]
Kirkham aka Kirkam-in-Amounderness is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England, midway between Blackpool and Preston and adjacent to the town of Wesham. It owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location of a Roman fort. At the census of 2011, it had a population 3,304 plus 3,890, giving a total of 7,194. By the census of 2021 the total had risen to 3,217 plus 4,666, giving a total of 7,883.
The Borough of Fylde is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. It covers part of the Fylde plain, after which it is named. The council's headquarters are in St Annes. The borough also contains the towns of Kirkham, Lytham and Wesham and surrounding villages and rural areas.
Poulton-le-Fylde, commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,115.
Warton is a village in the civil parish of Bryning-with-Warton, on the Fylde, in the Fylde district, in the county of Lancashire, England.
Hambleton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Lancashire. It is situated on a coastal plain called the Fylde and in an area east of the River Wyre known locally as Over Wyre. Hambleton lies approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of its post town, Poulton-le-Fylde, and about 7 miles (11 km) north-east of the seaside resort of Blackpool. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, the parish had a population of 2,678, increasing to 2,744 at the 2011 census.
Singleton is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. It is located south-east of Poulton-le-Fylde, and at the 2001 census had a population of 877, increasing to 889 at the 2011 Census. The parish is sometimes referred to as two parts – Great Singleton is the larger part containing the village, and Little Singleton is a small area north of the village bordering the River Wyre.
Medlar-with-Wesham is a civil parish and an electoral ward on the Fylde in Lancashire, England, which contains the town of Wesham. It lies within the Borough of Fylde, and had a population of 3,245 in 1,294 households recorded in the 2001 census rising to 3,584 in 1,511 households, at the 2021 census.
Claughton is a sparse village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire in the north of England, in the Borough of Wyre. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 633. It is sometimes called Claughton-on-Brock to distinguish it from another Claughton in Lancashire in the Lune valley between Lancaster and Hornby.
St Michael's Church is in the town of Kirkham, Lancashire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Blackburn, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the deanery of Kirkham.
Ribby-with-Wrea is a civil parish just west of Kirkham, in the Borough of Fylde and ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It had a population of 1,489 in 2001, reducing to 1,373 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes Ribby Hall and the village of Wrea Green.
Westby-with-Plumptons is a civil parish in Lancashire, England. The parish is in Fylde district and contains the hamlets of Great Plumpton, Little Plumpton, Lower Ballam, Higher Ballam, Moss Side, Peel, and Westby. At the 2011 census, the parish had a population of 1,205. Westby and Plumpton are mentioned in the Domesday Book, as "Westbi" and "Pluntun".
St Nicholas Church is in the village of Wrea Green, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Kirkham, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is combined with those of St Matthew, Ballam and St Michael, Weeton. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Chad's Church is an Anglican church in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. A church on the site was built no later than the 11th century and may have existed prior to the Norman conquest of England. The tower dates from the 17th century, and much of the remainder of the building from a major renovation in the 18th century, although some of the fabric of the original structure remains. Further renovation and additions took place in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Marton is a historic village on the coastal plain of the Fylde in the Borough of Blackpool in Lancashire, England, most of which is now forms a part of the town of Blackpool. Marton, consists of Great Marton, Little Marton, Marton Fold and The Peel.
Carleton is a village on the coastal plain of the Fylde in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England. It consists of Great Carleton, Little Carleton, Norcross and Whiteholme and is situated close to Poulton-le-Fylde. Other nearby settlements include Thornton, Bispham and Blackpool. Historically, Carleton was in the parish of Poulton-le-Fylde. It borders the Borough of Blackpool immediately to the west.
St Peter's Church is in the seaside town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, England, situated on the Fylde coast. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn. It was completed in 1841, to a design by Decimus Burton. Burton had been employed by Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood in 1836 to lay out the new planned town of Fleetwood. It is protected as a Grade II listed building.
St Anne's is a church in the village of Woodplumpton in Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn, and the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the deanery of Garstang. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The churchyard at St Anne's is the supposed burial place of a 17th-century alleged witch named Meg Shelton.
Ribby-with-Wrea is a civil parish in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. It contains four buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings, all of which are listed at Grade II. This grade is the lowest of the three gradings given to listed buildings and is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". The parish includes the village of Wrea Green but is otherwise mainly rural. The listed buildings are a former farmhouse, a country house, a 19th-century house, and a church.