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St Paul's Cray
St Paul's CrayLocation within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ466688
London borough	Bromley
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ORPINGTON
Postcode district	BR5
Dialling code	01689 020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Bromley and Chislehurst
London Assembly	Bexley and Bromley
List of places UK England London 51°23′59″N 0°06′24″E / 51.3998°N 0.1067°E / 51.3998; 0.1067

St Paul's Cray is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Sidcup and north of Orpington.

The area

The village includes a small parade of shops, as well as part of the industrial estate on Cray Avenue that connects to its sister St Mary Cray. The former Broomwood pub is now a McDonald's and lies on the main road.

History

Though modern in appearance, St Paul's Cray has an ancient history. Romans camped along the banks of the river, and even earlier settlements are suggested by the mysterious dene holes, caverns shaped in the chalk, which have been found on either side of the valley. Sir Simon de Cray held the manor in the time of Edward I. He took his name from St Paul's Cray. He was knighted for his part in the Scottish wars. He became Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1275.

The name St Paul's Cray has no direct connection with St Paul the Apostle; it is simply an abbreviation of St Paulinus Cray. The 11th-century church, made redundant in 1978 but now occupied by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, is sited on Main Road on the attractive riverside section of the St Paul's Cray Conservation Area. From its structural form, it would appear to be a possibly Saxon foundation and certainly earlier than the thirteenth-century St Mary's. A rare dedication suggests that a church could have occupied the site in the early seventh century. (Paulinus was an early Christian missionary, and a close contemporary of Augustine who subsequently became Archbishop of York and Bishop of Rochester.)

The area was known in the 16th century as Paul Crey. William Camden born in 1551 writes in a 1610 travel guide in a section on Kent: "Here the riverlet Crey, anciently called Crecan , intermingleth it selfe with Darent, ? when in his short course he hath imparted his name to five townlets which hee watereth,as Saint Marie Crey, Pauls Crey, Votes-Crey, North Crey,? and Crey-ford in former ages Crecanford, where Hengest the Saxon, the eighth yeare after his arrivall, joyned battaile with the Britans, and after hee had slaine their captaines brought them under with so great a slaughter that afterwards hee never stood in feare of them, but established his kingdome quietly in Kent."

While some development has taken place on the east side of the old village, open country with a belt of woodland extends to the hamlet of Hockendenin Swanley and the borough boundary. On the west side, a large housing estate to accommodate 10,000 of London's overspill has swallowed up farm and woodland since the Second World War. This new township which extends as far west as Chislehurst Common has its own shopping centre, churches, schools, library and industrial estate. Sports facilities are found at the recreation ground, with Hoblingwell Wood to the rear.

Nearby areas

St Paul's Cray borders Foots Cray to the north, Ruxley to the north east, Swanley to the east, St Mary Cray to the south east and south, Petts Wood to the south west and west and Chislehurst to the north west.

Transport

Rail

St Paul's Cray is served by St Mary Cray station with National Rail services to London Victoria via Bromley South, London Blackfriars via Bromley South and Catford, Sevenoaks, Ashford International via Maidstone East and Dover Priory via Chatham.

Buses

St Paul's Cray is served by London Buses routes 51, 273, B14, R1, R4 and R11. These connect it with areas including Bexleyheath, Chislehurst, Grove Park, Lewisham, Orpington, Sidcup, Welling and Woolwich.

References

1. ^ London Borough of Bromley Official Guide, published by authority of the Council of the London Borough of Bromley, 1971/74
2. ^ An Illustrated Guide to St Mary Cray and t © St Mary Cray Action Group 1999
3. "St Paulinus Churchyard". London Gardens Online. London Parks & Gardens Trust. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
4. Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland by William Camden, 1610 http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Camden&c_id=12&p_id=3354#pn_28

v t e London Borough of Bromley
Districts	Anerley Aperfield Beckenham Berry's Green Bickley Biggin Hill Bromley Bromley Common Chelsfield Chislehurst Coney Hall Crystal Palace Cudham Downe Eden Park Elmers End (including Upper Elmers End) Elmstead Farnborough Foxbury Goddington Green Street Green Hayes Hazelwood Hockenden Horns Green Keston Kevington Leaves Green Locksbottom Longlands Luxted Mottingham New Beckenham Orpington (including: Broom Hill, Crofton, Derry Downs and Ramsden) Park Langley Penge Petts Wood Plaistow Poverest Pratt's Bottom Ruxley St Mary Cray St Paul's Cray Shortlands Single Street Southborough South Street Sundridge Sydenham Upper Norwood West Wickham Widmore
Attractions	Bethlem Gallery Bethlem Museum of the Mind Bromley Little Theatre Chislehurst Caves Churchill Theatre Crofton Roman Villa Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Bowl Crystal Palace Dinosaurs Down House St Blaise's Well
Parks and open spaces	Betts Park Chislehurst Common Crofton Wood Croydon Road Recreation Ground Crystal Palace Park Cuckoo Wood Downe Bank Elmstead Wood Hayes Common High Elms Country Park Jubilee Country Park Kelsey Park Keston Common Norman Park Ruxley Gravel Pits Saltbox Hill Scadbury Park Sundridge Park The Warren West Kent Golf Course nature reserve
Places of worship	Bromley Reform Synagogue St Botolph's Church, Ruxley St Edmund's Church, Beckenham St George's Church, Beckenham St John the Evangelist's Church, Penge St Mark's Church, Bromley St Mary's Church, Chislehurst St Mary's Church, Downe St Mary the Virgin, Hayes St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bromley
Constituencies	Beckenham Bromley and Chislehurst Lewisham West and Penge Orpington
Rail stations and tram stops	Anerley Avenue Road Beckenham Road Beckenham Junction Bickley Birkbeck Bromley North Bromley South Chelsfield Chislehurst Clock House Crystal Palace Eden Park Elmers End Elmstead Woods Hayes Kent House Knockholt Lower Sydenham New Beckenham Orpington Penge East Penge West Petts Wood Ravensbourne St Mary Cray Shortlands Sundridge Park West Wickham
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Subjects	Halting site Irish Travellers Knacker Shelta Tinker
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