Wray, Lancashire
Encyclopedia
Wray is a small village
in Lancashire
, part of the civil parish
of Wray-with-Botton, in the City of Lancaster
district. Wray is the point at which the River Roeburn
joins the River Hindburn
.
According to the 2001 census Wray-with-Botton had 521 residents, 269 male, 252 female and 200 homes.
The village has a general store which also offers a post office
as an additional service. The village also offers a pub
, a tearoom
, and two restaurant
s: The George and Dragon, Bridge House Farm Tearooms, The Inn at Wray and Bridge House Bistro
respectively.
Wray has a large scale wireless broadband network maintained by Lancaster University
. A wireless mesh network
is implemented to give villagers and visitors wireless access to the internet. The villagers are currently working with the University to trial a digital TV network through the mesh, prototypes will be distributed soon.
Wray is the Scarecrow
Village of Lancashire
, England
, and has its own village website. Wray is one of the earliest villages to have an online presence. Wray is also home to the maggot
races, an annual event which raises money for local charities.
on 8 August 1967 of the river Roeburn resulted in the loss of houses, bridges, livestock, vehicles, and personal possessions. Remarkably, despite the scale of the devastation caused by the flood, no serious injury was done to any of the people of the village.
The local significance of the Flood of 1967 is illustrated in the Millennium Mosaic, completed in September 2000, which represents the wind and storm spewing out a great tide of water. The Mosaic is sited in the 'Flood Garden' on Main Street, the site of some of the houses demolished as a result of the flood.
Many old photos of the flood are in the digital photo album, which is available online via the Wray village website, and also a display is located in the village post office.
See reference for an historical account of the floods.
on the "little" North Western Railway. It opened in 1849 and closed six months later.
Festival, established 1995, takes place every year during the week leading up to May Day
. There is a fair on the Bank holiday
. During the week there are refreshments served daily in the Village hall
and a parade of the giants. Lots of the villagers put up scarecrows outside their homes, and these are all photographed and added to the digital noticeboard online via the village website. On Easter Monday 2011, the festival's cricket match, Twicket
, was live-streamed on the Internet, using the mesh.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, part of the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Wray-with-Botton, in the City of Lancaster
City of Lancaster
The City of Lancaster , is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Morecambe, Heysham, and Carnforth, as well as...
district. Wray is the point at which the River Roeburn
River Roeburn
The River Roeburn is a river in Lancashire, England.Sourced at Salter Fell, the Roeburn flows northwards through Roeburndale to Wray, where it falls into the River Hindburn....
joins the River Hindburn
River Hindburn
The River Hindburn is a river in Lancashire, England.The Hindburn rises at Thrushgill where three smaller streams combine....
.
According to the 2001 census Wray-with-Botton had 521 residents, 269 male, 252 female and 200 homes.
The village has a general store which also offers a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
as an additional service. The village also offers a pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, a tearoom
Tearoom (U.K. and U.S.)
A tearoom is a small room or restaurant where beverages and light meals are served, having a sedate or subdued atmosphere. The term may also refer to a room dedicated to the serving of tea in a private house....
, and two restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s: The George and Dragon, Bridge House Farm Tearooms, The Inn at Wray and Bridge House Bistro
Bistro
A bistro, sometimes spelled bistrot, is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. Home cooking with robust earthy dishes, and slow-cooked foods like cassoulet are typical...
respectively.
Wray has a large scale wireless broadband network maintained by Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
. A wireless mesh network
Wireless mesh network
A wireless mesh network is a communications network made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology. Wireless mesh networks often consist of mesh clients, mesh routers and gateways.The mesh clients are often laptops, cell phones and other wireless devices while the mesh routers forward traffic...
is implemented to give villagers and visitors wireless access to the internet. The villagers are currently working with the University to trial a digital TV network through the mesh, prototypes will be distributed soon.
Wray is the Scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
Village of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and has its own village website. Wray is one of the earliest villages to have an online presence. Wray is also home to the maggot
Maggot
In everyday speech the word maggot means the larva of a fly ; it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies...
races, an annual event which raises money for local charities.
1967 Wray Flood
A flash floodFlash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
on 8 August 1967 of the river Roeburn resulted in the loss of houses, bridges, livestock, vehicles, and personal possessions. Remarkably, despite the scale of the devastation caused by the flood, no serious injury was done to any of the people of the village.
The local significance of the Flood of 1967 is illustrated in the Millennium Mosaic, completed in September 2000, which represents the wind and storm spewing out a great tide of water. The Mosaic is sited in the 'Flood Garden' on Main Street, the site of some of the houses demolished as a result of the flood.
Many old photos of the flood are in the digital photo album, which is available online via the Wray village website, and also a display is located in the village post office.
See reference for an historical account of the floods.
Railway
Wray railway station was between Hornby and WenningtonWennington railway station
Wennington railway station serves the village of Wennington in Lancashire, England. It is situated on the Leeds to Morecambe Line and operated by Northern Rail, who provide all passenger train services. The station was formerly a junction between the lines to Lancaster and Carnforth , but the...
on the "little" North Western Railway. It opened in 1849 and closed six months later.
Scarecrow Festival
The ScarecrowScarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
Festival, established 1995, takes place every year during the week leading up to May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
. There is a fair on the Bank holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
. During the week there are refreshments served daily in the Village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
and a parade of the giants. Lots of the villagers put up scarecrows outside their homes, and these are all photographed and added to the digital noticeboard online via the village website. On Easter Monday 2011, the festival's cricket match, Twicket
Twicket
Twicket was a village cricket match, streamed world-wide on the Internet on Easter Monday, 25 April 2011, with the intention of highlighting the need for high-capacity upstream broadband to enable community content provision...
, was live-streamed on the Internet, using the mesh.
External links
- http://www.vrwray.com Virtual Tour of the Village with panoramas and hundreds of photos, plus video history of the Scarecrow Festival and Wray Fair.