29th October 2024
Become a volunteer!
Volunteers are the lifeblood of our store. Why not join the team?
Volunteering is fun and rewarding and you can expect a wonderful experience.
We accept all offers of volunteering to help in the store.
All training will be provided.
You don’t have to work alone.
You don’t have to open or close the store.
No previous experience is expected.
You can put in several shifts a week, a couple of hours a month, or somewhere in between. No minimum. No maximum.
Back from University or College? Help us out. Volunteering within the community is great for your C.V.
New to the area? Want to get involved with our wonderful community? There is NO quicker way to meet everyone!
You will be required to enjoy yourself!
If you are interested pop into Store for a chat, or drop an email to:- [email protected]
29th October 2024
Share Buy Back Offer
At the 2024 Annual Members Meeting we proposed a share buy back offer for current shareholders.
If you are a shareholder you will have received an email or letter communication regarding the offer reasoning, conditions, and how to apply.
Don’t forget that the deadline for applications is midnight on the 19th December 2024.
29th October 2024
Christmas 2024
Well Christmas came around in the blink of an eye!
This year we are planning:-
- A Christmas Raffle of seasonal goodies. More tickets will be available this year!
- A late night shopping evening highlighting our Arts and Crafts suppliers (
- Lots of Christmas staples and luxuries in store.
- Cornvale Christmas meat orders. What not place them at the Store? The store benefits and you don’t need to be around for the delivery. Get the same great prices as going direct.
27th October 2024
Winter Opening Hours 2024
As a small business we monitor our opening hours carefully and now we have over 12 months running under our belts, we can see the peaks and troughs in customer visits. As a largely volunteer run business, any time we can give back to our volunteers without affecting the business turnover is a positive.
From October 27th 2024 our SUNDAY hours will change to 09.00 to 14.00. All other opening periods will remain unchanged.
10th April 2024
Scarecrow Festival 2024
The annual Wray Scarecrow Festival will run between 27th April and 6th May 2024. Wray Village Store is proud to support this event, with the Store acting as Scarecrow HQ. This years theme is Sci-Fi!
The Scarecrow Festival is organised and run by Wray folk. It’s a lot of work to organise, but the event has run using this approach since 1992! All proceeds raised from the event go to Wray Village Institute with the funds being distributed directly to village causes. Wray Village Store was the recipient of a generous financial contribution when we opened as a Community Benefit Society in 2023.
We get the odd celebrity visiting us too.
You can visit on any day you fancy, but the Big Day, with all the events is the Bank Holiday Monday on 6th May.
Scarecrows from local villagers and local groups will be installed about the village from Saturday 27th April with the 10k run starting the 10 day event off at 13.15.
Sunday the 28th sees a Fantastical Quest run from the Store. This event is a mix of treasure hunt, orienteering and role play gaming which you can pre-enter or enter on the day (spaces permitting).
Watch the children of Wray Endowed School show off their Maypole Dancing thrills and spills at 14.30 Monday to Thursday!
Tuesday 30th April is the FRA sanctioned 11km Fell Race starting at 19.00 by the river bridge. See this link
Friday 3rd May is the Giant Scarecrow Parade starting at around 6pm at the Gars and ending at Wray Tearooms. Watch the Giant Scarecrows parade up Main Street behind St George and his pet dragon and Batala a Samba drumming band. The prize giving for the various Scarecrow categories is given after the parade. The funfair rides will be open.
Saturday and Sunday 4th and 5th May is the build up to Fair Day. A highlight will be the local history walks which you can join at 11am and 2pm each day. The funfair rides will be open too.
The main event, Fair Day will be held on Monday the 6th May. For a parking fee of only £10 you get the occupants of your car inclusive entry to the events on the Fair Field and lots of the events about the village. Fair Day attractions include Croix Du Nord Vikings, Dog agility (including have a go with your dog), Traditional games, The Ball Race down the river, a silent disco, Samba Espirito band and other music around the village. The only additional costs are entry to the Ball Race, Funfair rides and food and drink. An unbeatable value day for all the family!
Wray Village Store will be open throughout the event as the Event HQ, with food and drink, our incredible Traditional Sweet Shop and day to day groceries for sale. We look forward to welcoming you to Wray and the Scarecrow Festival.
15th November 2023
Christmas Meat Orders
Our local meat and fine food suppliers, Cornvale, can supply your Christmas meat orders. You can order in Store or by telephone on 01524 231107.
We are making Christmas local!
September 9th 2023
Annual Members Meeting
The Annual Members Meeting for Store shareholders will be held in Wray Village Institute on September 21st at 19.30.
Investors will have received additional documentation via email or post.
Please join us as we present the financial results for the Store, indicate our plans for the future and ask you to volunteer or elect management team members.
25th June 2023
June Newsletter
We are in our third month of trading and thanks to the support of Wray Community and our wider customers, we are doing really well! Download our Newsletter here.
25th May 2023
Volunteer slots available
The first period of Store trading has been incredibly successful with the added bonus of the Scarecrow Festival adding to sales. All the current volunteers will tell you how rewarding and fun it is to spend time within the Store.
Due to the impressive level of support we are receiving, we want to recruit more volunteers. This will enable us to split volunteer slots further, will permit us to have a “bank” of volunteers and will provide the ability for us to maintain the current opening hours.
Volunteers will receive training and DO NOT have to have any experience. We can consider anyone as a volunteer. Are you a student home for summer? Are you looking for work experience? You do not have to live in the village. You do not have to work alone. You WILL be supported.
Get in touch. Send an email to [email protected]
18th March 2023
The Grand Opening!
After a huge amount of work Wray Village Store had its Grand Opening on 18th March 2023. The Mayor of Lancaster cut the ribbon and the Store was officially open for business at 11am. The opening is a massive achievement for the village and we would like to thank all investors, volunteers and our customers for their support. Some picture of the day are shown below.
5th February 2023
Preliminary volunteer rota. Your chance to volunteer to serve in the store.
The pdf below is the preliminary store staffing rota that will rotate on a 2 week cycle when the store opens in March. We are really pleased with the initial take up! We will need additional volunteers to cover unfilled volunteer slots, illness and holidays. It would be fantastic to be in a position where the store has an excess of community volunteers! We want the store to be a fun, rewarding place to work and for duties to be manageable for all. There are no prerequisites to becoming a volunteer. All are welcome to be part of this journey!
Volunteers will be fully trained. We understand some degree of hesitancy and know that not all volunteers will be able to commit to a schedule. WE DO UNDERSTAND THIS. So please do consider becoming a volunteer. You do not have to be a shareholder.
6th January 2023
Visit the Store 10th to 12th January
Malcolm Evans your store manager will be in the store between 10am and 5pm Tuesday 10th to Thursday 12th January.
Come in an see the store as it goes through planned refurbishment before re-opening in March 2023
15th December 2022
A Store Manager has been appointed
The Management Team are delighted to welcome Malcolm Evans as the Manager for Wray Village Store.
Malcolm lives locally and brings with him a great background in retail and customer service. Malcolm has experience in running small businesses and is very much focussed on customer service, financial planning and sustainability. We are confident that Malcolm will make a real difference to the future of the shop.
Malcolm will start his post in January 2023 as we begin the shop fit out and finalise stock. Malcolm will be running a couple of drop in sessions to gain your current views on stock and will build new ideas into the stock items that have been requested within past surveys.
If you see Malcolm, welcome him on board!
15th December 2022
16th October 2022
We are hiring!
Shop Manager Required.
Applications for the role of Shop Manager for Wray Village Store are now open.
Wray Village Store is an exciting venture for our village. The successful applicant will have a key role in creating the vibrant and successful store and community hub that we all desire. The Store Manager will be an ambassador for the shop and the key point of contact for customers, volunteers and suppliers.
Location: Wray Village Store, Main Street, Wray, Lancashire, LA2 8RG
Salary: To be agreed based upon experience. Will exceed the National Living Wage as defined by the National Living Wage Foundation.
Contract: Permanent/Part time.
Hours: To be agreed. May include some out of hours work and weekend work.
Holiday Entitlement: Pro rata, based upon 20 days per year.
Responsible to the Wray Village Store Management Committee.
For further information please download the Job Description and Person Specification below.
Applications via letter and CV should be made to [email protected] or posted to Bob Halsey, Wennington Cottage, The Gars, Wray, LA2 8QJ.
Closing date 5th November or sooner if sufficient applications are received.
6th September 2022
Share Offer Documents
Click the links to display the pdf files in a new tab.
- Business Case
- WVS CBS Model Rules
- Share Offer Document
- Share Offer FAQ
- Post-launch FAQ's
- Meet the Team
- Share Application Form
- Share Nomination upon Death Form
- Shares for Minors Application Form
- WVS Privacy Policy
If you have any questions you can contact:-
Bob Halsey, Wennington Cottage The Gars Wray – 07894257992
Silas Heys, Lunesdale Cottage Home Farm Close – 07931652923
Steve Openshaw, 11 Home Farm Close – 07977410177
Heather Wells, 10 Home Farm Close – 07831410990
