Wrea Green

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude = 53.7765
longitude = -2.9143
official_name = Wrea Green
map_type = Lancashire
population = 1600
shire_district = Fylde
shire_county = Lancashire
region = North West England
constituency_westminster = Fylde
post_town = PRESTON
postcode_district = PR4 2
postcode_area = PR
dial_code = 01772
os_grid_reference = SD397315

Wrea Green is a village in the Fylde borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about 2 miles west of Kirkham. The correct parish name is Ribby with Wrea [ [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/RibbywithWrea Ribby with Wrea] ]

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'.

History

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.Fact|date=February 2007 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.Fact|date=February 2007 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. A collection of old photographs of the village may be found at the [http://lytham-online.co.uk/wrea%20green/wrea.green.top.htm Lytham Online] website.

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.

Local Businesses

In Wrea Green, there are quite a few small businesses/eating places. Some of these are:
* Spar / Post Office
* Dizzy Ducks Cafe
* Thai Restaurant
* The Villa (pub, restaurant and hotel) [http://www.the-villahotel.co.uk]
* The Grapes (pub-restaurant)
* Private Dentist Surgery
* Daju Hair Salon
* The Institute (pub)
* Ribby Hall Village (holiday, hotel and conference centre) [http://www.ribbyhall.co.uk]

* For many years the village was the home of the steel farm-building construction company J. Wareing & Son (Wrea Green) Ltd before its recent re-location to a larger site in Westby, north of Wrea Green.

Field Day

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 promenence usually crown the Queens, for example, the head teacher of the primary school in 2006 etc.

The Primary School

The school - [http://www.ribbywithwrea.ik.org 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 - St Nicholas [ [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/RibbywithWrea/StNicholas.shtml St.Nicholas Church of England] ] - replaced the Sharples school. The oldest part of the present school building dates from 1898.

Twin Towns

* - Saint-Bris-le-VineuxWrea Green has been twinned (since November 2005) with the small, picturesque village of Saint-Bris-le-Vineux, in Burgundy, France. A delegation of Wrea Green residents travelled to St Bris in November 2005 to make the twinning official, but the first large exchange came when 43 French came to stay in Wrea Green for the Easter weekend 2006. After the major success of July 2007's trip to France of 40 Wrea Green residents, a return exchange has been planned for the weekend of the 21st August 2008, when a similar amount of French guests will come to the UK.

References

External links

* [http://www.wreagreen.com/default2.asp?mainFrame=http%3A//www.wreagreen.com/content/static/history/history.htm Wrea Green Village Website] .