Crayford is a town and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in South East London, England, within 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 ...

. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of

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 ...

. Crayford was in the historic 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 ...

until 1965. The settlement developed by the river Cray, around a ford that is no longer used.

History

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

settlement existed in the vicinity of the present St Paulinus Church between the Julian and Claudian invasions of Britain, from roughly 30 BC to AD 40. Roman ruins have been discovered and Crayford is one of several places proposed as the site of Noviomagus Cantiacorum, a place mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary as being on the Roman equivalent of the later

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

. Crayford is also plausible as the site of the bloody battle of Crecganford ("Creeks ford") in 457 in which Hengist defeated

Vortimer Vortimer (Old Welsh Guorthemir, ), also known as Saint Vortimer (, "Vortimer the Blessed"), is a figure in Matter of Britain, British tradition, a son of the 5th-century Britons (historical), Britonnic ruler Vortigern. He is remembered for ...

to become the supreme sovereign of

. The

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

written around 400 years later describes how Hengist and Æsc defeated the "Brettas" at that battle. Crayford is mentioned 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 ...

, which was compiled just prior to 1086, as a settlement within the Hundred of Litlelee with a church, three mills, and a relatively large population of 27 regular householders (

villein A villein is a class of serfdom, serf tied to the land under the feudal system. As part of the contract with the lord of the manor, they were expected to spend some of their time working on the lord's fields in return for land. Villeins existe ...

s) and two

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

s. Its overlord was not a private individual or the king but Christ Church, Canterbury. As a (civil/combined) parish (before 1920) it included the hamlets of Northend, Perry Street and Slade Green which lie to the north. In 1831, the population of the parish was 2022 people.'Pigots 1840', on website freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~shebra/pigots_1840
accessed 5 December 2007 For centuries it was strongly associated with brick-making, the printing of silk scarves, ties and calico cloths, and for a short period carpet-making. There were two main Manor Houses in the area during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Newbery Manor on the site of what is now Crayford Manor House, and Howbury Manor next to Slade Green. Roger Apylton had served Kings Henry V and Henry VI as auditor, and resided at Marshalls Court, Crayford. Late in the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

Henry Partich sold Newbery Manor to Henry Apylton of Marshalls Court, and Apylton built May Place close by.British History Online version of Edward Hasted's History of Kent Volume 2
accessed 10 February 2016 Hall Place, which lies alongside the River Cray, was built for

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, Sir John Champneis, in around 1537. There was also an Iron Mill, which was later replaced by a saw mill (in 1765), which produced the timber for the floor of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. In 1551 Francis Goldsmith bought a 'Great tenement called The Place' next to the bridge in Crayford, and between 1556 and 1586 purchased substantial amounts of local farmland and the Old Bell Public House.History of Parliament page on Francis Goldsmith
accessed 10 February 2016 In 1623 most of the parish of Crayford was purchased by Merchant Taylor Robert DraperHistory of Parliament article on Cresheld Draper
accessed 10 February 2016 including Newbery Manor, Howbury Manor, Marshalls Court and May Place, where his family took up residence. Draper's wife Anne was the daughter of Thomas Harman who lived at Ellam House which subsequently passed to the Drapers.Facets of Froyle website articles on the Draper family
accessed 10 February 2016 The ownerships subsequently passed to Robert Draper's son William, who was selected to be the Sheriff of the County of Kent but died in 1650 before taking office, and then to Robert's grandson, parliamentarian Cresheld Draper. On the death of Cresheld Draper in 1694, his heirs sold all the properties to Sir Cloudesley Shovell'. Crayford Manor House was rebuilt in the eighteenth century, at the time essentially a farmhouse until it was remodelled in 1816 for the Rev. Thomas Barne.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

state it was built piecemeal over several periods, with a porch and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

features being added to the 1816 building.Historic England assessmengt of Crayford Manor House
accessed 7 February 2016 Other notable 19th-century local houses included Shenstone (built around 1828 and demolished 1974, the site is now Shenstone School, with Shenstone's former grounds now being Shenstone Park),Parks & Gardens website page on Shenstone Park
accessed 7 February 2016 Stoneyhurst (which became Stoneyhurst Convent High School and is now the site of St Catherine's Roman Catholic School for Girls),Dartford Council website article on Hiram Maxim
Accessed 7 February 2016Bexley Boroughs Photos website text accompanying picture of Stoneyhurst Convent High School
accessed 9 February 2016 Martens Grove and Oakwood - the latter two designed by architect John Shaw Jr. and built by George Locke of builders Locke & Nesham with each occupying one of the houses.Bexley Council article on Martens and Oakwood
accessed 7 February 2016

Industrialisation

In 1819, the former saw mill site became a flour mill. Another major employer was the silk works set up by Augustus Applegath and later run by David Evans. The Maxim Nordenfeldt Gun and Ammunition Factory was also a major employer, until taken over by the Vickers Company in 1897. Vickers built military aeroplanes and armaments and became the dominant employer, building homes, a theatre and a canteen close to many workshops. The canteen (built during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

) was converted for use by the Crayford Urban District Council as Crayford Town Hall and is a locally listed building. Another former major employer in Crayford was Dussek Brothers (part of Burmah- Castrol since the 1960s) who operated their oils and waxes blending business on Thames Road from around 1928 until the site was bought by BP and subsequently closed down in 2001. The entire site was demolished in early 2010. The David Evans silk works is another recent closure, in 2002. In 1982 a

housing cooperative A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...

was built at Craymill next to the A206 road.

Demography

According to the 2011 census, 84% of the population is White British.

Leisure

Crayford has a theatre and a greyhound racing track. The theatre was named in honour of Geoffrey Whitworth who played a key part in developing a British tradition of amateur drama and in building political support for The

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

. The new Crayford Community Centre, located above the library, is the venue for many groups.Crayford Community Centre
Your London Library; accessed 7 February 2016 Nearby Hall Place is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

lying between Crayford and Bexley. It has gardens with the River Cray running through and a plant nursery, a cafe and restaurant plus the silkworks shop. The large Sainsbury's supermarket situated next to the greyhound stadium was claimed by Sainsbury's to be the world first's use of technology which heats the store using natural energy captured through boreholes buried hundreds of metres beneath the ground and was at the time of its expansion (2010) the largest Sainsbury's in England.Sainsburys article on largest stores in England, Scotland and Wales
J Sainsbury; accessed 7 February 2016 The Tower Retail Park is opposite Crayford Town Hall. The High Street is partly one-way for motor traffic.Developer plans for new Crayford retail park
Completely Retail

Sport

* VCD Athletic Football Club compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division ('VCD' stands for Vickers, Crayford and Dartford). They play at Oakwood stadium, on Old Road, Crayford, which they share with Kent Football United *Crayford Arrows Sports Club is a local football team, established in 1981 *Speedway racing was staged at Crayford Greyhound Stadium. The team raced in the inaugural 1968 British League Division Two as the Highwaymen before closing down. In later years the sport was revived and the team were known as the Kestrels. The track subsequently closed and the team moved to Hackney Stadium in East London

Education

*Secondary schools in the area include Haberdashers' Crayford Academy

Places of worship

*Acts 2 Church Crayford, Haberdashers' Aske's Academy, Iron Mill Lane *Crayford Baptist Church, Bexley Lane * St Paulinus Church (Anglican), Manor Road *St Mary of the Crays Catholic Church, Old Road *Crayford Mosque, Crayford High Street

Locality

Nearest places

* Bexleyheath *

* Barnes Cray * Slade Green *

Barnehurst Barnehurst is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Greater London within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north east of Bexleyheath, and 13.0 miles (20 km) east south-east of Charing Cross. It is separated from Nor ...

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...

* Bexley

Transport

Rail

Crayford railway station connects the town with Southeastern services to

London Charing Cross Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a London station group, central London railway terminus between the Strand, London, Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South ...

via

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 ...

, London Cannon Street via Sidcup 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 ...

, London Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

Buses

Crayford is served by three

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

bus services. * 96 to Woolwich via Bexleyheath and Welling, and to Bluewater via

* 428 to

and to Bluewater via Dartford * 492 to

via Bexleyheath and to Bluewater via Dartford

Notable residents

* Semi Ajayi, footballer who plays for West Bromwich Albion and the

Nigeria national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in Men's international Association football, football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations (Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON) winners, w ...

* Augustus Applegath, inventor who built Shenstone HouseBexley Council article 'Crayford'
accessed 7 February 2016 * Thomas Bevan, soldier and played first-class cricket for the British Army cricket team * Algernon Blackwood, author, journalist and broadcaster, lived in Crayford Manor House between 1871 and 1880 * William Claiborne, surveyor of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony and established the first permanent European settlement in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Clayburn Family website page about Thomas Claiborne
accessed 10 February 2016Kent Island website history page
accessed 10 February 2016
accessed 10 February 2016
accessed 10 February 2016 * George Green, footballer * Thomas Harman, author who resided in Crayford from 1547Rogues & Early Modern English Culture (University of Michigan Press, Craig Dionne & Steve Mentz, Editors
) page 106 shown at books.google.co.uk accessed 10 February 2016 * Henry Nuttall, cricketer * Keith and Gavin Peacock, father and son footballers. * Cloudesley Shovell, admiral who lived at May Place between 1694 and 1707CrayfordHistory website article about May Place
accessed 7 February 2016 * Frederick Currie, lived at the Manor House, May Place * Hiram Maxim, inventor, lived at Stoneyhurst from 1884 until 1889Bexley Council website article on Hiram Maxim
Accessed 7 February 2016 * Derek Ufton, played cricket for Kent and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for Charlton Athletic'A Remarkable Sporting Life' - article about Derek Ufton on Kent Cricket website
accessed 10 February 2016 * Jack Wall, inventor of the Crayford focuserDescription of the Crayford Focuser
accessed 28 November 2007

References

External links

A description of Crayford in c. 1870
in the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (from the 'Vision of Britain' website)
Two maps of the area c.1800

Maps of Crayford Parish in the pastA diary listing musicians booked to appear at the Bear and Ragged Staff public house, 2 London Road

* ttp://cmhas.wikispaces.com/ Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society
The brick-faced Town Hall, built as a canteen and offices for Vickers' staff and subsequently used for tea dances and other community events, now a clinic with flats aboveSummary of Vickers' mergers/acquisitionsThe Geoffrey Whitworth TheatreCrayford Tubes
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Bexley Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Bexley District centres of London Crayford