| Wrea Green | |
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Wrea Green
Wrea Green shown within Lancashire |
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| OS grid reference | SD397315 |
|---|---|
| Parish | Ribby with Wrea |
| District | Fylde |
| Shire county | Lancashire |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRESTON |
| Postcode district | PR4 2 |
| Dialling code | 01772 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Fylde |
| List of places: UK • England • Lancashire | |
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 1600 residents, 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, commonly known as 'The Dub'.
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A part of the village of Wrea Green (actually as a separate hamlet) existed before the time of the Domesday Book, with the name of Ricksby. The name was changed along the way to Rigbi. In this guise it was mentioned in Domesday, as was the Neighbouring Hamlet of Wra (which became Wray). The name of the village eventually, through mis-spellings and a growing population became Ribby with Wray. As there was already a Wray in the county of Lancaster (Lune Valley) the spelling of the village name was changed to Wrea. As the village has the largest village green in the county and to distinguish it further from the other Wray, the name "Wrea Green" was born.
Between 1846 and 1961, the village was served by Wrea Green railway station.
The property at the northern end of Church Row was for many years the office of J. Wareing & Son (Wrea Green) Ltd but before this was a sub-branch of the District Bank Ltd.
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.[2]
In Wrea Green there are quite a few small businesses and eating places, including: an artificial grass suppliers and installers, a hair salon, a construction design services consulancy, two pubs (one with a community room, a holiday, hotel, sports and conference centre, a Thai restaurant, a Post Office with shop, a hotel with restaurant, a farm-building construction company and a dentist.
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". People with some local prominence usually crown the Queens, for example, the head teacher of the primary school in 2006 etc.
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[3] 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 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.
Another exchange is planned for the summer of 2009, beginning the weekend of July 24, when another delegation of Wrea Green residents will visit their St Bris hosts.
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 plane 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.[4]