River Cray

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River Cray, in relation to the Darent and other Rivers of Kent
River Cray, in relation to the Darent and other Rivers of Kent
Orpington pond is the source of the River Cray
Orpington pond is the source of the River Cray
The confluence of the River Darent (left) and the River Cray (right) on Crayford Marshes.
The confluence of the River Darent (left) and the River Cray (right) on Crayford Marshes.

The River Cray is a tributary of the River Darent in southern England. It rises in Priory Gardens in Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley, where rainwater permeates the chalk bedrock and forms a pond at the boundary between the chalk and impermeable clay. It then flows northwards past the industrial and residential area of St Mary Cray, through St Paul's Cray where there was once a paper mill, through Foots Cray, and enters the parkland of Foots Cray Meadows. Here it flows under the Five Arches bridge (which was 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. It then turns east through Crayford and Barnes Cray before joining the Darent, which flows northwards into the River Thames between Crayford Marshes and Dartford Marshes. The villages through which it flows are collectively known as The Crays.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Clean-ups on the river and campaigns for responsible angling are organised by the Cray Anglers Conservation Group[1].

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 marketed as part of the London LOOP.

Meaning: the term "cray" is an old British one, meaning "clear, pure".

[edit] Watermills.

For an explanation of the various pieces of machinery mentioned, see Mill machinery.

The River Cray powered twelve watermills. From source to mouth they were -

[edit] Orpington Mill.

A Domesday site, the last mill building dated to the eighteenth century and was used as a store in its final years before demolition. [2]

[edit] Upper Paper Mill, St. Mary's Cray.

This mill stood opposite the Temple PH, it had an undershot waterwheel. Nicholas Townsend was mentioned in insurance records in 1757, and William Sims in 1771.[3] In 1784 William Townsend was first mentioned as a paper maker in St. Mary Cray,[4] In 1786 Samuel Lay of Sittingbourne was the papermaker, he was described as a master papermaker in 1801.[3] Martha Lay ordered two moulds in 1806.[3] Martha Lay was running the mill in 1816[4], paper from this mill bore the watermark Martha Lay 1804.[2][5][6] The mill ceased working in 1834.[4]

[edit] Snelling's mill, St. Mary's Cray.

A weir near the Black Boy hotel marked the spot of a Domesday mill.[2] The mill was demolished in 1872 and the area landscaped as part of the grounds of a public park. William Joynson bought the mill for £8,000 to enable the creation of the park.[7]

[edit] Joynson's mill, St. Mary's Cray.

This was a corn mill which stood near St. Mary's Cray church. It was replaced by a paper mill, then a paper factory and in recent years by a warehouse complex.

In 1787 this mill was being run by Henry Brightly. John Hall was the owner in 1816. Charles Cowan was working at the mill in 1819, when the mill had two vats and was producing an estimated 1,500 pounds (680 kg) of paper a week. William Joynson took over in 1834.[4][8] He had previously been at a paper mill in Snodland[9] Paper produced here bore the watermarks "Joynson Superfine" or "WJ&S" over "St Mary Cray Kent".[4] In 1839, Joynson was granted a patent for watermarking paper produced by machine. The mill was expanded in 1853, when a second machine was installed, enabling the steam driven mills to produce 55,000 pounds (25,000 kg) to 66,000 pounds (30,000 kg) of paper a week.[3] William Joynson died in 1874 and the mills were left under trusteeship to his two grandsons. One of them, William, drowned in 1875 leaving Edmund Hamborough Joynson as sole heir.[3] Cowan mentions that at one time the mill was producing an estimated 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of paper a week in 1878.[4][3] Some 700 people were employed at the mill in 1881 and E. H. Joynson took over the mill in September 1882, expanding the mill the following year with a new steam engine and machinery.[3]An engraving of the mill in 1891 can be seen here.[2][5] Joynson produced only high class writing papers.[3] In the late 1890s, a dryer was sold to Nash's and installed in their mill at St. Pauls Cray.[10] Edmumd Joynson took his son into partnership shortly before World War One. The firm became William Joynson & Son. In 1914, Joynson's paper was used in the first £1 and 10/- [[1]] issued by the Bank of England.[3] Edmund H Joynson retired in 1930 and the mills were taken over by Messrs Wiggins, Teape & Co. who promptly closed the mills in order to undertake a rebuild. 350 people were made redundant, and only 200 would be employed in the reopened factory. The paper factory made greaseproof and vegetable parchment paper.[11] The mill reopened in April 1933 as the Vegetable Parchment Mills (Delcroix) Ltd. The production of "vulcanised fibre" began c.1943. In 1963 the mill was the home of the National Paper Museum[3] The mill closed in 1967 and the paper museum collection was transferred to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.[12][3]

[edit] St. Paul's Cray Mill.

In 1718 this mill had two waterwheels driving machinery for dressing leather in oil, and a third for corn milling. The mill was replaced by a paper mill, powered by a turbine.[2][5]

[edit] Foots Cray (Nash's) Paper Mill.

This corn mill was replaced by a paper mill.[2] It was used in the 1830s as a meeting place for Baptists.[13] In 1845, Mary Ann Nash inherited the profits & rents of the mill until her sons came of age under the terms of her husband's will. Mary Ann Nash died on June 7 1852. Thomas Nash enlarged the mill in 1853. After his death at the age of 21, his brother William was manager under the trustees until he came of age in 1857. William Nash was married twice, and had five children. In 1870 they moved from the Mill House to a new house called Crayfield House. It is recorded that the axle of the waterwheel protruded into the kitchen of the Mill House. William Nash died on September 11 1879 and the mill was in the hands of trustees again. In 1898 a 250hp double-expansion condensing steam engine by Pollitt & Wigzell was installed, along with a second paper machine. Shortly after this a secondhand dryer was purchased from Joynson's mill to replace one that had proved not to be suitable.[10]

[edit] Bexley Mill.

A Domesday site, one of three in Bexley. This was a corn mill. In 1255, the miller, Auxellus, was censured for allowing the escape of a suspected murder.[2] A millstone was bought for 55s.6d. in 1300.[14]The last building on the site dated from 1779, when the undershot waterwheel powered four pairs of millstones.[14] The mill was burnt down in May 1966 and was replaced by the Old Mill PH, a pub with a mill theme.[15]It was owned by the Cannon fmily from 1839 to 1907.[14] Stephen Cannon was the first of the Cannon famil, also running mills on the River Darent. The miller in 1872 was Stephen Cannon (son), who concentrated the business at Bexley, the mills on the Darent being sold. A steam engine was installed in 1884. The Cannon family sold Bexley mill in 1907.[14] The mill was used in its latter days for making sacks.[16] A picture of the mill can be seen here.

[edit] Hall Place Mill, Bexley.

A Domesday site, this mill stood behind the mansion of Hall Place. It was replaced by a printing works.[2]

[edit] Calico Mill.

This mill stood where Watling Street crossed the cray. In the eighteenth century it procesed calico.[2]

[edit] Crayford Flour Mills.

This corn mill had a breastshot waterwheel.[5]

[edit] Lower (Iron) Mill, Crayford.

This was the site of a plating mill built in the 16th century. It was still used as a flatting mill in the early eighteenth century, when it was owned by Lady Shovell.[2] It was known as Crayford Iron Mill in 1800.[17] It had a breastshot waterwheel.[5]

[edit] Crayford Saw Mill

This was a saw mill powered by a breast shot waterwheel.[5] It replaced Crayford Iron Mill in 1765. The timber for the floor of Buckingham Palace was produced here.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cray Anglers Conservation Group
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Reid, Kenneth (1987). Watermills of the London Countryside, Vol 1. Cheddar, Somerset, UK: Charles Skilton Ltd., p143. ISBN 0284 39165 4. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rootsweb St. Mary Cray Paper Mills section
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rootsweb The History of St Mary Cray section
  5. ^ a b c d e f Mills archive
  6. ^ BAPH
  7. ^ Rootsweb St Mary Cray – by John Blundell section
  8. ^ Ideal Homes
  9. ^ Snodland history
  10. ^ a b Rootsweb Paper Makers 1817-1967 section
  11. ^ Rootsweb Bombshell at St. Mary Cray, Joynson’s mill closed. “Village out of work.” section
  12. ^ Rootsweb Joynson's Mill section
  13. ^ Foots Cray Baptist Church
  14. ^ a b c d Ideal Homes
  15. ^ Bexley village
  16. ^ Ideal Homes
  17. ^ Cray Walk
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River Cray • River Darent
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