Ruxley is a rural settlement of South East

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

that straddles the boundary of the London Boroughs of

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

and Bexley. It is located 13 miles southeast of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, the traditional centre of London, in the Metropolitan Green Belt between

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

and Swanley and is also adjacent to the Greater London border with the county of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

.Ruxley marked on Ordnance Survey map, accessed fro
Streetmap.co.uk
/ref>Nicholson Greater London Street Atlas Comprehensive Edition p.186 (2003) shows borough district boundaries and roadsStreet map of Ruxley area, showing roads and administrative boundaries, Collins Bartholomew accessed fro
Streetmap.co.uk
/ref>Map of Bexley Borough: parkland, greenbelt and land usage map in Bexley Core Strategy paper, pp. 13, 88, accessed fro
Bexley.gov.uk

About Ruxley

Ruxley was a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

prior to 1557 and had its own thirteenth century church, St Botolph's. Ruxley's central location on the main road made it an important meeting place for the Hundred of Ruxley,An Historical Atlas of Kent, edited by Terence Lawrence & David Killingray (2004) – Map and description of meeting places & hundreds p. 30 which was named after it. Ruxley Gravel Pits is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

located on the west side of Ruxley. Today the area is known for Ruxley Manor, a large site with a garden centre and other retailers and services.

Name and toponymy

In 1086 the settlement of Ruxley was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as ''Rochelei''Ruxley's entry in the

(1086) accessed fro
OpenDomesday.org
/ref>''A Dictionary of London Place Names'' (2001), by A.D. Mills p. 214 "Ruxley" and "Upper Ruxley" entry It was also recorded as ''Rochelea'' and ''Rocheslea'' in 1175 as a parish and settlement ''Rokesle'' in the 1190s,Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: North Cray with Ruxley', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2 (Canterbury, 1797), pp. 141–162. accessed fro
British History Online
/ref> as ''Rokeli'' in 1199, and ''Rokeslega'' in 1211, and Rooksley in 1719. The name possibly meant 'wood or clearing frequented by rooks' from the Old English words ''hrōc'' (rook) and ''lēah'' (wood clearing). It has also been suggested the first element may be from an Old English personal name ''Hrōc'' or ''Hroca''. The

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

that covered Ruxley was originally called ''Helmestrei'', a name that had been used since at least the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. By at least the late thirteenth century, the name Helmestrei was no longer in use, and the hundred came to be known as Hundred of Ruxley taking its new name from the settlement of Ruxley, which was the meeting place of the hundred, located on the main road, which passed through it.

History

Ruxley was recorded in the

of 1086, as a settlement of 20 households, with woodland, pigs and a mill located in the Hundred of Ruxley, within the Lathe of Sutton at Hone. At that time Ruxley was recorded as having more households than the surrounding settlements of North Cray, Foots Cray and St Paul's Cray, but less than

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

, St Mary Cray, Bexley and Chelsfield. Hundred of Ruxley (Helmestrei) entry in the

(1086) listing number of households in Ruxley and other Settlements. accessed fro
OpenDomesday.org
/ref> A family who possessed much of the lands of North Cray and Ruxley took their surname from Ruxley. Malgerius de Rokesle possessed the lands at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, in the late 13th century Gregory de Rokesley, a wealthy wool merchant and goldsmith from Ruxley, moved to London and later served as the Sheriff of London, Lord Chamberlain and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

at different times. In the thirteenth century, St Botolph's Church was constructed in Ruxley. Ruxley was a distinct parish of its own, until 1557 when Cardinal Reginald Pole, the archbishop of Canterbury deconsecrated the church and united Ruxley parish with North Cray parish, located northwest of Ruxley. The new larger parish was sometimes referred to as ''North Cray with Ruxley'',Edward Hasted, 'The hundred of Ruxley: Introduction', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2 (Canterbury, 1797), pp. 1–2. Hundred of Ruxley entry accessed fro
British History Online
(accessed 30 March 2016). or sometimes just by the existing name, ''North Cray''.An Historical Atlas of Kent, edited by Terence Lawrence & David Killingray (2004) – Parish and hundred maps, front cover and back cover inlay On 21 June 1819 William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst was born in Ruxley, he was a British military commander who served as Commander-in-Chief of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

from 1865 to 1870. The Hundred of Ruxley became obsolete at the end of the nineteenth century when new districts began to be created. In 1894 North Cray parish, including the settlement of Ruxley formed part of the newly created Bromley Rural District that existed from that year until 1934 when it was abolished.F. Youngs, ''Local Administrative Units: Southern England'' (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979), p. 639. Bromley Rural District entry, accessed fro
VisionOfBritain.org.uk
/ref> In 1934 North Cray and Ruxley became part of the Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District which was formed that year from the previous districts, Sidcup Urban District, Chislehurst Urban District, and a small part of the Bromley Rural District that contained North Cray and Ruxley.F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Southern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979), p. 639, Sidcup Urban District entry, accessed fro
VisionOfBritain.org.uk
/ref> In 1965 the urban district and its parishes were abolished and

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

and the

London borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...

s were created. Sidcup and North Cray were then part of the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Belvedere, London, Belvedere, Crayford ...

and Chislehurst became part of the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

, Ruxley ended up on the common boundary of the Bexley and Bromley boroughs, as the border between them in this location follows Maidstone Road, the main road that Ruxley is located on.

St Botolph's Church

St Botolph's Church, a church dedicated to Botwulf of Thorney was built in the thirteenth century in Ruxley,News Shopper Bexley ''Preservation cash for former church'' news article about English Heritage grant for St Botolph's Church, Ruxley. accessed fro
www.newsshopper.co.uk
/ref> on the south side of Maidstone Road. It was in use for around 300 years but was deconsecrated by Cardinal Reginald Pole in 1557, the same year he united Ruxley parish with that of North Cray into one parish. The church building was used as a barn for over 400 years and was used to store agricultural equipment. In the 1960s archaeological work was carried out on the site and found evidence of an older wooden building, suggesting there may have been an older Saxon church in the same location. Today the church is a Grade II listed building and a scheduled ancient monument on the grounds of Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, and is owned by the Evans family. Although many features are still intact, including the majority of the roof, the church is in disrepair, and appears as "remains of church" on Ordnance Survey maps.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

have agreed to pay a grant of £35,000 of the estimated £62,000 needed for structural work on the building to help preserve it.

Ruxley Gravel Pits

Originally dug between 1929 and 1951, Ruxley Gravel Pits is a biological

, to the west of Ruxley, near Crittal's Corner roundabout; it is in size on the borough boundary with parts within the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley. The site is also a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, owned by the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

has assessed its condition as "unfavourable recovering". The site comprises four gravel pits, which are now lakes, and the River Cray runs through three of them, while the fourth is fed by springs. The A20 road Sidcup Bypass now cuts through the north side of the site. The bodies of water are also referred to as Ruxley Lakes,Details of Ruxley lake Complex accessed fro
Orpington and District Angling Association (ODAA) official website
/ref> and although not open to the public they are also used for

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

. Gravel extraction took place from 1929 to 1951, and once it ceased the pits attracted many species of birds and a diverse range of plants. In 1975 the site was designated an SSSI. Over 500 species of

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignin, lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified Ti ...

s and 169 of birds have been recorded, including song thrush, reed bunting, kingfisher and skylark. Fifty-three of the bird species are breeding. Insects include 23 species of butterfly, 9 dragonfly and over 500 beetles. This variety reflects the diversity of habitat: wooded islands, fringes of mature trees, scrub, fen and open water. Vegetation on the banks include the rare club rush ''

Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani ''Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani'' is a species of flowering plant in the Cyperaceae, sedge family known by the common names softstem bulrush, grey club-rush, and great bulrush. It can be found throughout much of the world; it has been reported f ...

''. The open water areas have rafts of

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

water-lily. Access to the site is reserved to members of the Orpington and District Angling Society and permit holders. It is closed to members of the public.

Transport

Roads

The main road that runs through Ruxley is named Maidstone Road, today it is a relatively straight road, designated the B2173 road running east to west. To the east, it goes uphill through Upper Ruxley, Birchwood Corner and changes its name to High Street then London Road as it skirts Swanley town centre before joining junction 3 of the M25 motorway where the B road ends. To the west, Maidstone Road continues downhill over Ruxley Corner roundabout, at which the B road designation ends, but Maidstone Road continues west over the River Cray then through Foots Cray and uphill to Sidcup as the A 211 road named Maidstone Road, Foots Cray High Street, Sidcup Hill, and Sidcup High Street; further west it's named Main Road and Foots Cray Road and reaches Eltham. Maidstone Road was historically the route of the original A20 road, the main route from London to

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

; old maps show it was previously a winding road as it passed through Ruxley, Edward Hasted, 'The hundred of Bromley and Beckenham: Introduction and map', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 1 (Canterbury, 1797), p. 527. accessed fro
British History Online
16 May 2016. and part of it survives today as a crescent road named Old Maidstone Road to the south of the present Maidstone Road leaving and rejoining it after about 500 metres. In the Ruxley area the B2173 marks the border between the

to the north, and the

to the south. Just to the south of Maidstone Road, the new A20 road runs east to west, it is a dual-carriageway, and a primary

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

route. The section near Ruxley was built as a bypass road in 1968 to bypass Swanley. It is named Sidcup Bypass then Sidcup Road to the west where it bypasses Sidcup and Eltham towards Lee and

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, and named Swanley Bypass to the east, until it meets the M25 near Swanley then continues on through Kent, all the way to

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

on the coast. In the Ruxley area, Sidcup Bypass marks the border between the postcode districts, DA14 SIDCUP to the north, BR5 ORPINGTON to the southwest, and BR8 SWANLEY to the southeast. Ruxley Corner, is a roundabout, located immediately west of Ruxley, which has five exits, two of which are the aforementioned Maidstone Road, to the east and west. North-northeast from here is North Cray, a dual-carriageway A road, designated the A223 road, it travels 4 km north to Bexley, where it ceases to be a dual-carriageway and continues to a junction and bridge over the A2 road, Rochester Way, as Bexley High Street and Bourne Road, before meeting Watling Street at

Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the Historic countie ...

. To the southeast of Ruxley Corner the A223 road continues as Edgington Way for 1 km before reaching Crittall's Corner. Sandy Lane, is a minor road that travels south from Ruxley Corner through St Paul's Cray. Crittall's Corner, named after a window factory, comprises a much bigger and grade separated roundabout west of Ruxley and immediately south of Foots Cray. This roundabout also has five exits, the new A20 road, Sidcup By-pass set on a flyover and a deep level N-S cycle track, but has access roads joining it, the A224 road, starts in Foots Cray 1 km to the north as Cray Road, then crosses Crittall's Corner roundabout then travels south as Sevenoaks Way, Cray Avenue and other names for about 15 km passing through St Paul's Cray, St Mary Cray,

and eventually reaching the M25 and Sevenoaks.

Buses

The following

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes serve Ruxley. *233 to Eltham via

or to Swanley. *492 to Sidcup or to Bluewater via Bexleyheath &

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Rail

The nearest National Rail stations to Ruxley are

and Swanley.

Sport and leisure

There are three

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

s near by, two at Orpington Golf Centre to the south and one at Birchwood Park Golf further away to the east. Orpington Golf Centre is located immediately south of Ruxley and the A20 road Sidcup Bypass, its entrance is on Sandy Lane. This golf centre has two eighteen hole golf courses, Ruxley Park Golf Course on the western side built in 1975, and also has a driving range, and the much larger Cray Valley Golf Course on the eastern side, which also has an additional nine-hole course too.Details of Orpington Golf Centre accessed fro
golftoday.co.uk
/ref>Details of Orpington Golf Centre accessed fro
www.mytimeactive.co.uk
/ref> East of Ruxley near Upper Ruxley, is Birchwood Park Golf and Country Club, just into Kent, it has a main eighteen hole course and a nine-hole short course named Orchard Course; it also has a driving range and they are planning to open a new health and fitness club with gym and swimming pool.Details of Birchwood Park Golf and Country Club accessed fro
www.birchwoodparkgc.co.uk
/ref> Five Arches

Bromley Ski Centre, was located on Sandy Lane near Ruxley Park Golf Course, with a 120-metre dry ski slope and two lifts, plus indoor skiing, and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

.details of Bromley Ski Centre accessed fro
bromleyski.co.uk
/ref> The facility closed in March 2016 due to reduced usage and income.News Shopper article about closure of Bromley Ski Centre accessed fro
www.newsshopper.co.uk
/ref> At Ruxley Manor just to the south of Maidstone Road, there is a 420 square metre artificial, outdoor, ice skating rink that has opened during the winter since 2012.nNews Shopper article on ice skating rinks near London accessed fro
www.newsshopper.co.uk
/ref> An

club named Orpington and District Angling Association uses Ruxley Lakes as one of their fishing sites. Ruxley Wood, is a 40-acre woodland, about 500 metres across, and has been used to host paintballing for several years, there are seven game fields, some use wooden structures, others just the woodland for cover.Details of Sidcup paintball accessed fro
www.ukpaintball.co.uk
/ref>Details of Sidcup paintball accessed fro
force10paintball.com
/ref> The same area is also used for lasertag.

Foots Cray Meadows

Foots Cray Meadows is an area of parkland and woodland 97 hectares (240 acres) in size; it is located northwest of Ruxley, and the River Cray flows northward through it. The Meadows are a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. They have also received a Green Flag Award. Two notable footbridges cross the River Cray in the meadows: Five Arches bridge and the smaller Penny Farthing Bridge. The area was originally a part of the Footscray Place estate, and during the 18th century the Five Arches bridge was built. At the same time, an almshouse was built adjacent to the woods, which, as of 2008, was being excavated by

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

belonging to Bexley Archaeological Group. After the house's destruction, in the late 1940s, the area was turned into a public recreation park. In the early 2000s, Five Arches bridge was renovated with new stone.

Retail, commerce and services

Several large retailers have used the open spaces in Ruxley next to the main roads to build stores, mostly Edgington Way. There is a

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

superstore and petrol garage located in Ruxley on Edgington Way.Sidcup Tesco superstore details accessed fro
www.tesco.com
/ref> There are several Car dealerships in Ruxley, Porsche being next to the Tesco store, a

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

showroom on Maidstone RoadBMW dealership details accessed fro
www.stephenjamesruxleybmw.co.uk
/ref> and

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

and

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked amon ...

showrooms also on Maidstone Road, on the Foots Cray side. There is a Bookers cash and carry, wholesalers on Edgington Way, opposite The Tesco store.Bookers entry at Yellow Page
www.yell.com
There is also a Screwfix warehouse, a BP garage and a timber merchant Alsford Timber Ruxley, and Selco Builders Warehouse on Edgington Way. In Upper Ruxley to the east, there is service area on the A20 road, Sidcup Bypass which includes a 24-hour

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products (or use the service provided by the business) without leaving their c ...

, another BP garage and a Subway restaurant. Several of the farms in and near Ruxley sell produce and goods straight to the public too. Other services in Ruxley include a driving theory test centre,Government List of driving theory test centres accessed fro
www.gov.uk
/ref> and Maidstone Road Re-Use and Recycling Centre, one of two council rubbish dumps in the London Borough of Bexley.Reuse and Recycling Centres of Bexley accessed fro
www.bexley.gov.uk
/ref>

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

has a large manufacturing and bottling plant between Foots Cray and Ruxley which opened in 1961 and employs 361 people. This plant was where Dasani water was produced. Richard Klinger Group, an Austrian company which made engine gaskets, hydraulic pipelines and water level gauges and valves, had a factory in Ruxley built in 1937 in a Modernist architectural style. The Klinger factory, which was later bought by French company Trouvey Cauvin, closed in the 1990s and the building was severely damaged by fire in 2013. It will shortly reopen as a self-storage facility, but only three facades have survived the conversion.

Ruxley Manor

A site where the original church and farm were, Ruxley Manor garden centre,Ruxley Manor Garden Centre details accessed fro
www.ruxley-manor.co.uk/
/ref> is located here to the south of Maidstone Road, includes two large car parks and several plant nurseries. The site also has other services, it sells food, much of which is produced locally, and there are two restaurants named Mulberry Tree Restaurant, and The Coach House Restaurant, there is also a pet store with a specialist fish aquatic centre. Other activities on the site include a children's soft play area, a seasonal ice skating rink, and Santa's Grotto, with

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

which live there permanently,News Shopper news article describing Ruxley Manor's Santa's Grotto and Reindeer, accessed fro
www.newsshopper.co.uk
/ref> plus a children's

day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

centre, Grace's Nursery.Graces Nursery details accessed fro
www.gracesdaynursery.co.uk
/ref>Deatails and review of Grace's Nursery accessed fro
graces-nursery/pdf/ofsted_13.PDF
/ref>

Nearest areas

References

{{Authority control Districts of the London Borough of Bromley Districts of the London Borough of Bexley Sidcup Orpington Areas of London 1557 disestablishments in Europe Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Bromley Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Bexley