In 1684 a group of 12 wealthy landowners were appointed as the “Twelve men of Wreay”. They contributed to the upkeep of the village and acted as guardians to the poor. Per custom, they met in the Plough Inn on Candlemass day (around 6th February) for their annual meeting, followed by a meal of oatcakes, bread cheese and butter with ale. During the meeting it was customary to smoke the long white clay churchwarden pipe, which is now kept in a glass cabinet in the Plough for all to see, with the names of the current twelve men in seat.

 

The tradition has continued and each year at Candlemass the current Twelve men of Wreay come in for their annual feast (minus the smoking of the clay pipes obviously!)

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The Village of Wreay is very proud of its Church, “St Mary's” which was built by local architect Sarah Losh between 1840 and 1842. The Church has received notoriety as one of the top 10 churches you must see in the UK and regularly receives a stream of visitors from far and wide due to its “wow factor” it provides. 

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Sarah and her family are reputed to have come into The Plough Inn to discuss with the Twelve Men of Wreay, and it is understood that they were involved with Sarah in the building of the Church and Wreay School, which is another building designed and built by Sarah Losh