Captain Richard Pooley and Wray Endowed School

To the North of Bowland, where the waters of the Roeburn meet the Hindburn, sits the attractive little village of Wray.

Largely built of 18th century sandstone cottages Wray has always been an industrious, self-sufficient community, historically a textile town, with mills powered by the flow of the two lively rivers tumbling down from the fells it has also been well provisioned for, with shops, a public house, hotel, Wesleyan Chapel, Friend’s Meeting House and a splendid little village primary school to cater for the various needs of the inhabitants.

Wray Endowed School

The village’s primary school, Wray Endowed School has an unusual and interesting history, the original building dates from before 1684 and was built with £20 bequeathed by Captain Richard Pooley in his will, which read;

“Toward the building of a free school in my grounds at Weind Head in Wray, in hopes that the inhabitants in Wray will lend stone, sand, lime and slate and make convenient seats within said school. And I will give and bequeath the sum of £200 of lawful money of England to be paid to the school master of the free school forever for his Teaching and Educating in Wray Free School”

Captain Richard Pooley

Captain Pooley was born in Wray and made his fortunes fighting with the Roundheads in the civil war, he rose up through the ranks very quickly under Cromwell yet came from humble beginnings. He was one of two brothers abandoned in Coventry by their father who was there to sell cattle from his farm in Wray, legend has it that a lady in a passing carriage saw the two lost children and became their benefactress, raising Richard Pooley until he left to fight under Cromwell.

It is thought that tutelage he received from his benefactor made him realise the importance of education as it aided him in his military career, which is why he decided to bequeath money for the building of the school in his home town. I can’t find out anything about the benefactress or his brother though.

An inscription on the lintel above the schools door reads “this is the gift of Captain Richard Pooley with £200 forever” and the date 1684, the year he died, the school has been rebuilt since however, in 1860 it was ‘enlargened’ on land given by Captain J.R Marshall, and was knocked down and rebuilt in 1885.

The school now

The village, like many others in the area, is now predominantly residential but is unusual in that a lot of the families that live in the cottages have lived there for several generations. A quick look at the surnames of pupils and staff on the school register now, names like Wilson, Stephenson, Kenyon, Parker, Robinson, Walmsley and Roberts, mirrors those of 25, 50 or even 100 years ago.

The Robinson’s for example, which are a long established farming family in the area working land between Slaidburn and Wray, have had generations of children enrolled at the school in Wray or St Brennand’s Endowed School in Slaidburn.

Wray Endowed School is currently run by the Pooley trust, a registered charity, and has consistently been rated Good by Ofsted, there is a very popular Forest Classroom too which teaches practical outdoor skills and independence, things I am very sure that Captain Pooley would appreciate.

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