town (parish), Windsor and Maidenhead unitary authority, geographic and historic county of Berkshire, England, on the River Thames. “The Vicar of Bray,” a well-known English ballad of unknown authorship, tells how the vicar of the community retained his ecclesiastical living by changing creed according to necessity from the time of Charles II until the accession of George I. The modern village is residential in character. Pop. (2001) 8,425.

urban district and resort, County Wicklow, eastern Ireland. It lies on the Irish Sea, about 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Dublin. The town developed during the 19th century; it has a long beach and esplanade, which terminate southward in Bray Head, a 653-foot (199-metre) quartzite peak. Bray is an important tourist centre, both as a resort and as a base for touring the scenic areas of Wicklow. The remains of Ballyman Church, rebuilt in the 12th and 13th centuries, are nearby in the Bray River valley. The area has electronics and engineering industries. Pop. (2002) 26,244.