Barnes Cray is an area in south-east

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

within the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a 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, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Boro ...

. It is located on the Greater London border with

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, bordering the Dartford Borough. It is located north west of Dartford.

History

Up until the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

it was a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

a kilometre downstream of Crayford where no more than sixteen homes were clustered. A calico-printing works drew water power from the culverted River Wansunt in early Victorian times, being later adapted for the manufacture of rubber goods, then felt and finally Brussels carpets. This carpet mill was demolished by 1890 and Barnes Cray House, the next largest building, was cleared by 1933, ending its days as a nursing home. The remnants of the settlement became absorbed into Crayford with the building of a munition village to facilitate the expansion of Vickers' armaments factory during the 1915 to 1919 period. In 1920 the area became part of the

Crayford Urban District Crayford was a local government district in north west Kent from 1920 to 1965 around the town of Crayford. As well as Crayford, it included Barnehurst, Barnes Cray and Slade Green. It was created an urban district in 1920 from part of Dartfor ...

(having previously been in

Dartford Rural District Dartford Rural District was a rural district with an area of in the county of Kent, England. In 1971 it had a population of 64,561 and an electorate of 43,911. At dissolution it was the most populous rural district council in Kent, but had o ...

). Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Crayford Urban District Council erected further housing estates to the north, eventually merging with estates spreading southwards from Erith. In 1965, under the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

, the urban district was abolished and its area transferred to Greater London to form part of the present-day London Borough of Bexley.http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10025746&c_id=10001043
''visionofbritain.org.uk'' The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre is in Barnes Cray. The site of the current Barnes Cray Primary School is the proposed site for a new

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

for ages 3–19, which was consulted upon from September - December 2008,Haberdashers' Aske's Crayford Academy Consultation document
accessed 8 Oct 2008 and the primary school will convert to the Academy in September 2009, with the secondary part of the Academy due to open in September 2010.Haberdashers' Aske's Crayford Academy website
accessed 9 Aug 2009

Transport

Barnes Cray is served by the Transport for London bus service 428 to Erith via

Slade Green Slade Green is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies northeast of Bexleyheath, northwest of Dartford and south of Erith, and east-southeast of Charing Cross. Historically Slade Green was part o ...

and to Bluewater via Dartford. The nearest rail link to the area is at Crayford station.

Nearest places

* Crayford *

* Dartford *

Barnehurst Barnehurst is a town and electoral ward in South East 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 North Bexleyheath by the A2 ...

References

{{LB Bexley Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Bexley