St Mary Cray

Old St. Mary Cray

Tour of Old St. Mary Cray - Friday 7th June 2013

A small but determined group of Members assembled in the Priory Gardens, long the source of the River Cray, to start their three hour stroll down the river valley under the guidance of Tony Lathey who had kindly provided us with a guide to the many sites of historical interest.

The River, so important to the establishment of St. Mary Cray both as a farming area and as a working village with water mills and enough inhabitants to justify 14 public houses, is only a shadow of its former self but provides the backdrop to much of the local history.

Click on an image below to see a larger version - you can then move forward or back using the arrows on either side.

Map of the Priory Gardens.
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The River Cray where the main stream meets the old mill stream.
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Flint-dressed houses in Albert Road.
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19th century cottages with unusually long gardens.
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Durley House - the remaining half after war time bombing.
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Grad II listed Latimer Court has seen many changes but is now flats.
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South Cray farmhouse, now surrounded by Victorian cottages.
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Territorial Army centre in Anglesea Road.
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Grade II listed Survey House with footings going back to the 11th century.
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17th century Wealden Cottages, built next to an Anglo-Saxon site.
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The 17th century Black Boy public house, now a youth centre.
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Another fromer pub (there were 14), the Blue Anchor is built of elm covered in brick.
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Once a butchers, this 17th century building is now a house.
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Another of the many butchers in the village, this was Strouts.
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The Mary Rose Hotel, parts of which date back to the 17th century.
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The Old Star public house, now flats.
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The 17th century Anglesea Arms, now a pharmacy.
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Fort Knox.
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Limetree House, once a bakery with the bake-house visible behind.
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St. Mary Cray primary school built in 1909 on an earlier building.
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Once the Rosecroft Nursery shop, this is now the Croft Tea Room.
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Although Effingham Lodge has gone, its stables remain, converted into a house.
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The old police statioin, built in 1896, is now also a dwelling.
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St. Mary's Church dating back to the 13th century has three locally made bells.
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Temple Church was built in 1954 to replace one destroyed by a land mine in 1941.
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The Lodge, builti in 1891, with flint walls matced by the adjacent Temple Church.
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The relatively new village green is surrounded by much older buildings.
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