River Cray

River Cray
Confluence of the River Darent and the River Cray (right) on Crayford Marshes.
Basin features
Main source	Orpington Pond TQ 468 668 54 m (177 ft) 51°22′51″N 0°06′24″E / 51.3809°N 0.1067°E / 51.3809; 0.1067
River mouth	River Darent TQ 537 760 2 m (6 ft 7 in) 51°27′43″N 0°12′38″E / 51.4619°N 0.2105°E / 51.4619; 0.2105Coordinates: 51°27′43″N 0°12′38″E / 51.4619°N 0.2105°E / 51.4619; 0.2105
Physical characteristics
Length	9 miles (14 km)

The River Cray is a tributary of the River Darent in southern England, rising in Priory Gardens Orpington (London Borough of Bromley), where rainwater permeates the chalk bedrock and forms a pond at the boundary between the chalk and impermeable clay. Initially it flows northwards, past the industrial and residential area of St Mary Cray, through St Paul's Cray (where it once powered a paper mill) and through Foots Cray, where it enters the parkland of Foots Cray Meadows, flowing under Five Arches bridge (built in 1781 as part of the designs for Foots Cray Meadows drawn up by Capability Brown) and past Loring Hall (c.1760), once the home of Lord Castlereagh, who committed suicide there in 1822. It continues northwards through North Cray and Bexley, where there is a restored Gothic cold plunge bath house, built around 1766 as part of Vale Mascal Estate. It is then joined by the River Shuttle and then continues through the parkland of Hall Place, which was built for John Champneys in 1540. The Cray now turns eastward through Crayford and Barnes Cray to join the River Darent in Dartford Creek. The Creek flows northward to enter the River Thames between Crayford Marshes and Dartford Marshes at a point known as Crayford Ness. The villages through which the Cray flows are collectively known as "The Crays".

Clean-ups on the [non-tidal] river and campaigns for responsible angling are organised by the Cray Anglers Conservation Group. The tidal section is effectively monitored and maintained by The Dartford and Crayford Restoration Trust, who also organise Lengthsman duties for the banks. There is a signposted public footpath called the Cray Riverway alongside the river, beginning at Foots Cray Meadows and continuing for 10 miles (about 16 km) northwards to the Thames. It is part of the London LOOP. The river is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.

The River Cray powered fourteen watermills. From source to mouth they were:

TQ 467 669
A Domesday site, Orpington Mill stood almost at the source of the River Cray. The mill building dated from the 18th century and was of traditional construction, with a timber frame clad with weatherboards under a peg tile roof. The mill was powered by a 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) by 9 feet (2.74 m) cast iron waterwheel carried on a cast iron axle which had replaced an earlier wooden one. Much of the machinery was of cast iron, including the wallower, great spur wheel and crown wheel. The upright shaft was of wood. The mill drove three pairs of millstones. Miller John Colgate had introduced steam power by the 1870s, and the tall chimney for the steam engine was known locally as "Colgate's Folly", as it did not function as well as intended. The mill was used as a store in its final years before its demolition in 1934 or 1935.