Barnes Cray
| Barnes Cray | |
| Kent | |
|---|---|
 River Cray in Barnes Cray | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ525755 |
| Location: | 51°27’28"N, -0°11’46"E |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Dartford |
| Postcode: | DA1 |
| Dialling code: | 01322 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Bexley |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Bexleyheath and Crayford |
Barnes Cray is a village in north-western Kent, found on the course of the River Cray to the north-west of Dartford.
History
Up until the Victorian Age, Barnes Cray was a hamlet half a mile 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.
Following First World War, the local council erected further housing estates to the north, eventually merging with estates spreading southwards from Erith.
About the village
The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre is in Barnes Cray.