Ruxley

Ruxley (previously Rokesley, and in the Domesday Book Helmestrei) was an ancient hundred, a land division in the north west of the county of Kent, England. Its area has been mostly absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Ruxley district. Its former area now corresponds to a majority of the London Borough of Bromley, a large part of the London Borough of Bexley and a small part of the Kent District of Sevenoaks. The hundred was within the Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, in the west division of Kent. The hundred was approximately fourteen miles (22.5 km) at its longest north to south and about eight miles (13 km) and its widest east to west. The River Cray was the largest river in the hundred of Ruxley flowing northward through six of its parishes, four of which are named after it. The River Cray rises in Orpington then flows through St Mary Cray, St Paul's Cray, North Cray, Foots Cray, and Bexley before crossing the northern border and Watling Street into the Hundred of Lesnes. In 1797 the hundred was recorded as being divided into two half hundreds named Upper Ruxley and Lower Ruxley and under the jurisdiction of two constables.As almost all the area of the Ruxley hundred has now been absorbed by the growth of London, and as civil parishes were abolished in Greater London, Knockholt which was in the south of Ruxley is the only parish of the Hundred that is a civil parish today. Knockholt is also the only part of this Kent Hundred that is in Kent today, although both would not have been true whilst Knockholt was in the London Borough of Bromley between 1965 and 1969.

St Botolph's Church is a church building in Ruxley, in the London Borough of Bromley, southest London, England. It was constructed in the thirteenth century and dedicted to Botwulf of Thorney. St Botolph's was used as a church for around 300 years but was deconsecrated in 1557. The church was then used a farm building for over 400 years and the remains of an oast house are still adjacent to it. 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, although many features are still intact, the church is in disrepair and English Heritage have agreed to pay a grant to help preserve the building.

North Cray is a village in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It is 12.6 miles (20.3 km) south-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the River Cray, east of Sidcup and south of Bexley, and is in the Cray Meadows electoral ward, which also includes Foots Cray.

Foots Cray Meadows is an area of parkland and woodland 97 hectares (240 acres) in size, within the London Borough of Bexley, England. It borders the suburbs of Albany Park, Sidcup, Foots Cray, North Cray and Ruxley. The River Cray runs through it in a north-easterly direction. The London Loop, a public recreational walking path around London, also known as the "M25 for walkers", runs through the meadows parallel to the river from Sidcup Place, just south of the meadows. Two notable bridges cross the River Cray in the meadows: Five Arches bridge and the smaller Penny Farthing Bridge. The Meadows are a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. They have also received a Green Flag Award. There is access from Rectory Lane, among other places. Adjacent to the meadows is what was the kitchen garden and stables which included a boules alley with a summer house which is still standing.

Hockenden is a rural hamlet of South East London, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located on the border of Greater London with Kent, north west of Swanley.

Loring Hall is a private mental health care facility in North Cray, London Borough of Bexley. Formerly known as Wollet Hall or Woollet Hall, it is a Grade II listed building.

Ruxley Gravel Pits is an 18.7-hectare (46-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ruxley, Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley, and originally dug between 1929 and 1951. It is also a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. It is owned by the Environment Agency and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. Natural England has assessed its condition as "unfavourable recovering".The site comprises four gravel pits, and the River Cray runs through three of them, while the fourth is fed by springs. 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 plants 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. The open water areas have rafts of yellow and white 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.

The Warren is a 13.5 hectare nature reserve in St Mary Cray in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I, and is managed by the London Wildlife Trust.The site is mainly ancient oak and silver birch woodland with a ground flora of bracken, foxgloves and bluebells. The wood is open, with grass clearings, and there is a pond which has rare London plants such as blue fleabane and hare's-foot clover. Birds include green woodpeckers and nuthatches, and there are many bees and butterflies.There is access from Sheepcote Lane.

The Bull is a pub on Main Road, St Paul's Cray, London Borough of Bromley. It is a Grade II listed building, dating back to the 18th century.

Foots Cray Place was one of the four country houses built in England in the 18th century to a design inspired by Palladio's Villa Capra near Vicenza. Built in 1754 near Sidcup, Kent, Foots Cray Place was demolished in 1950 after a fire in 1949. Of the three other houses in England, Nuthall Temple in Nottinghamshire was built 1757 and demolished in 1929; the other two survive: Mereworth Castle (completed 1725, also in Kent) and Chiswick House (completed 1729, in London), both now Grade I listed buildings. A modern fifth example, Henbury Hall, was built near Macclesfield in the 1980s. Another example of a similar structure in England is the Temple of the Four Winds at Castle Howard, which is a garden building not a house.

Foots Cray (or Footscray) is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley and the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Sidcup.

Cleeve Park School was formed in 1986 by the merger of Parklands School for Boys and Sidcup School for Girls. The new mixed school was formed on the site of Parklands School on its current location in Bexley Lane. Mrs Evelyne Hinde was the first head Teacher of Cleeve Park School and oversaw its formation. The school is set in extensive grounds on the edge of the Footscray Meadows. The original Parklands school building dates back to 1950 and that building still forms part of the current school. The building has been extended and developed several times over the years most notably with a new wing added in 1990 and then a further section in 1995, both opened by the then MP for Bexley Sir Edward Heath. Cleeve Park was a local authority community school until 31 August 2012. On 1 September 2012 the school was a converter academy and joined The Kemnal Academies Trust. As of early 2019, a further expansion to create a new set of buildings for 100 new special educational needs students has been constructed.