On August 8th 1967 a storm came form the North West over Hornby, up the Salter fells towards Mallowdale Pike and then on over the tops into the centre of the Forest Of Bowland AONB. Tom Howard who was working in the Hornby Castle Woods describes the storm clouds as "Every shade of grey, white, black, even purple - swirling. You would have thought that Thor, or Odin would have come out of that sky, or God's voice".  A ball of lightening went down the fields at Broadwood and lit up the sheep netting fence. Raymond Gott was a carpenter working outside at Lancaster University and he describes the sky as red, blue and black. 
The torrential spiralling rain hit the ground with tremendous force leaving a great scar on the North side of Mallowdale Pike. Frank Ibbetson talks about a 10 minute long extreme peak around 5pm when the yard at Higher Salter was 6 inches deep. Bill Brown at Backbottom describes the river as “just boil over – Like milk boiling in a pan.”

Trees and boulders from landslips built up into dams behind bridges and in narrow areas of the river. The water was held up behind these dams and when they broke a more intense torrent carried on downstream.  
It hit Backsbottom Farm just after 5pm and reached Wray about 5.45pm. The flood water at Backsbottom subsided at around 8.30 pm to a completely transformed scene.  Houses and bridges had gone, fields had disappeared,  livestock drowned, enormous boulders had been brought down the river and one end of Wray village was devastated.
June Swindlehurst described the the day as "very hot humid day. Extremely hot indeed."
All I could see was a lake of brown rushing water with a noise like a train - a rushing train."
"There was a rolling wave like the Severn Bore". "Filthy coloured mud coming through the door."
"There were tree trunks coming down like juggernauts down the motorway and they were causing a large amount of damage, hitting the buildings as they were going down."
Wray Village lost 3 houses, 2 cottages,11 houses were badly damaged and 14 more were flooded.
The flood hit the  village around 5.45-6.30pm with trees blocking the bridge and then trees and rocks battering the houses beside the bridge. The water level came over Smithy Brow and was around 8 ft high over the top of the main bridge. Water came down the  street and entered some houses from the roadside.  In the centre of Wray, Hoskins Farm, flooded over wellington boot height within minutes of heavy rain. This washed bales out of the barn and down the main street towards Wennington Road.  Meal Bank Bridge collapsed soon afterwards.
The extreme flood water would have subsided around 8.30pm. Complete houses and all the owners possessions went down the river.  Large rocks and trees covered the road and a gully channel was formed near Bridge End. The stinking mud filled the houses and ruined everything inside. The smell was all-pervasive and is something that everyone remembers. 
Richard Brown, Bill and Alice Browns son, left  Backsbottom Farm   just after 5pm to go to work at the Toll Bar Garage Farleton. He later helped rescue Mr Towers from Brades Farm from a tree.

Farm damage from the flood.   
Estimated cost £85 million in 2017 values.
34 local farms were damaged
275 acres damaged
19 farm buildings damaged
4.1 miles of walls, fencing and hedges
damaged.

Emmeline Garnett has written an excellent account of the flood  The Wray Flood of 1967  Memories of a Lune Valley Community and David Kenyon's book - Wray and District Remembered -A photographic History of the Life and Times of a Working Village has a chapter on the flood.
The photos on this page have been collected from David Kenyon, Raymond Gott, Lancashire County Council, Margaret Stavely and the Wray Heritage Group.
Site Map                                     Home, Site Map and Film
                        River Roeburn Pre 1967          Location map and aerial photos
   Wray Flood August 1967                                            Current river levels and rainfall
Backsbottom Farm 1967                                                       Riverside Erosion
           Natural Flood Management                                               Events
                              Useful links                                           Contact
That's Lancashire remembering 50 years  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUGshg2LIHM.
Wray Flood Interviews by Liz Andrews from Radio Lancashire (recorded in 2007 40 years after the flood) Includes interviews with Alice Brown and other residents of Wray. https://youtu.be/33hON7ytNDk

Wray Flood interviews of village residents who witnessed the flood 50 years ago and flood photos. Interviews by the children at Wray School (3 Hours) 
https://youtu.be/2r3Jg7_pNyg
Index of Interviews and timing in this presentation
     Name                                                       Start time mins.
John Ryle                                                                 0
Margaret Stavely                                                 13   
George and Margaret Preece                          22   
Pat and Sean Feeney                                          28  
Anne Jones                                                           47   
Margaret Stephenson                                        52
Brenda Mickle                                               1hr 31
Sheila Sedgwick                                            1    39
Jean Sheard                                                    2    07
Rod Everett                                                     2    15
Tony Denby                                                     2    19
Rosemary Hartley                                         2    27
Margaret Mellin (Preston)                          2    31
Bob Smith                                                       2    37
Emmeline Garnett                                         2    48
End                                                                    3hr   6

Wray Flood demolition video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVl6_i0hIKg
David Kenyon's articles on Wray Flood in the Lancaster Guardian for the 50th anniversary
Part 1     Part 2      Part 3
Collection of photos of Wray Flood, Roeburndale, Wray, Hornby, Farleton and Claughton

50 Year Anniversary Exhibition by David Kenyon 8 August 2017
This contains many old newspaper articles related to the flood

Many thanks to David Kenyon,  Margaret Stavely,  Raymond Gott Lancashire County Council and members of the Wray Heritage Group for providing these photos.
Video of Wray after some restoration work 1967.   See  video
Picture
  Yorkshire Film Archive
Film footage of Wray after the Flood.
Click on image to see film.