St Michael's on Wyre
St Michael's on Wyre is a village on the Fylde, in the Borough of Wyre, in Lancashire, England; it lies on the River Wyre. The village is centred on the church of St Michael's, which was founded before 640 AD. It is in the civil parish of Upper Rawcliffe with Tarnacre, which had a population in 2001 of 604.[1][lower-alpha 1]
| St Michael's on Wyre | |
|---|---|
 St Michael's Church, St Michael's on Wyre | |
  St Michael's on Wyre Shown within Wyre Borough  St Michael's on Wyre Shown on the Fylde  St Michael's on Wyre Location within Lancashire | |
| OS grid reference | SD462414 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRESTON |
| Postcode district | PR3 |
| Dialling code | 01995 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
History
In 1835 the parish of St Michael's contained the townships of Out Rawcliffe, Upper Rawcliffe, Elswick, Great Eccleston, Inskip-with-Sowerby, Newsham and Woodplumpton.
In 1984, 16 people were killed in the Abbeystead disaster, during a visit by a party from St Michael's to a waterworks 10 miles (16 kilometres) up the River Wyre.
Following severe flooding in 2015 which resulted in the evacuation of the villagers, Prince Harry visited the village to meet with residents affected and reopen the refurbished village hall.[2][3][4][5]
Today
The small village has its own pub, car garage, school, village hall (with a post office), tennis club, bowling club and nearby Myerscough College.[6] The parish church of St Michael is the village's most prominent landmark. The nave and chancel date from the 14th century, and the tower from the 16th. It is one of two Grade I listed buildings in the Borough of Wyre.[7]
Death of Nicola Bulley
On 27 January 2023 mortgage adviser Nicola Bulley, from Inskip, disappeared whilst walking her dog Willow in the village. The dog was found alone near a bench and showed no signs of having been in the river. On 19 February Bulley's body was found in the river by a man and a woman walking in the area, about one one mile (1.5 kilometres) downstream of the village. The following day, Lancashire Constabulary confirmed that the body was Bulley's. The police were criticised for their handling of the case, including releasing private details of Bulley's health. Members of the public, particularly users of social media, were also criticised for travelling to the area during the search and for what the police described as "[playing] private detectives". On 27 June 2023 the inquest in Preston found that the cause of Bulley's death was accidental drowning.[8][9]
Transport
St Michael's microlight airfield is about one mile (1.5 kilometres) southeast of the village, south of St Michael's Road. It has three grass runways, and its airport code is GB-0398.[10] It is the home of Northern Microlight School, founded in 1982.[11] Queen Elizabeth II visited the airfield in May 2015.[12]
References
- Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Wyre Retrieved 2009-08-21
- "Lancashire families are being evacuated as floods caused by Storm Eva threaten havoc again". The Independent. 26 December 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- "Prince Harry returns to village flooded by 2015 storm". ITV News. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- "Widespread flood alerts remain in force". BBC News. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- "Prince hears flood victims' stories". BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- "Spotlight on - St. Michaels-on-Wyre". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- "Listed Buildings". Wyre Borough Council. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- "Nicola Bulley: Ofcom 'extremely concerned' by family media complaints". BBC News. 21 February 2023.
- O'Leary, Abigail; Macpherson, Jon (2 February 2023). "Passerby raised the alarm after finding Nicola's 'worried' dog wandering alone". LancsLive. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- St Michael's - UK Airfield Guide
- Northern Microlight School's official website
- The Queen visits St Michael's Airfield. God save the Queen., retrieved 16 September 2022
Notes
- For later counts see the civil parish
