Ruxley is a rural settlement of South East London, England that straddles the boundary of the London Boroughs of Bromley and Bexley. It is located 13 miles southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London, in the Metropolitan Green Belt between Sidcup and Swanley and is also adjacent to the Greater London border with the county of Kent. ^{[1][2][3] [4]}

Quick Facts OS grid reference, • Charing Cross ...

Ruxley
Ruxley Location within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ485704
• Charing Cross	13 mi (21 km) SEbE
London borough	Bexley Bromley
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Sidcup
Postcode district	DA14
Post town	Orpington
Postcode district	BR5
Dialling code	020 01689
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Old Bexley and Sidcup Orpington
London Assembly	Bexley and Bromley Bexley and Bromley
List of places UK England London 51.4131°N 0.1364°E / 51.4131; 0.1364

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Ruxley was a parish prior to 1557^[5] and had its own thirteenth century church, St Botolph's.^[6] Ruxley's central location on the main road made it an important meeting place for the Hundred of Ruxley,^[7] which was named after it. Ruxley Gravel Pits is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest located on the west side of Ruxley.^[8] Today the area is known for Ruxley Manor, a large site with a garden centre and other retailers and services.

In 1086 the settlement of Ruxley was recorded in the Domesday Book as Rochelei^[9][10] It was also recorded as Rochelea and Rocheslea in 1175^[10] as a parish and settlement Rokesle in the 1190s,^[5] as Rokeli in 1199, and Rokeslega in 1211,^[10] and Rooksley in 1719. The name possibly meant 'wood or clearing frequented by rooks' from the Old English words hrōc (rook) and lēah (wood clearing).^[10] It has also been suggested the first element may be from an Old English personal name Hrōc or Hroca.^[10]

The hundred that covered Ruxley was originally called Helmestrei,^[11][12] a name that had been used since at least the time of the Domesday Book in 1086.^[12] By at least the late thirteenth century, the name Helmestrei was no longer in use,^[11] and the hundred came to be known as Hundred of Ruxley^[11] taking its new name from the settlement of Ruxley, which was the meeting place of the hundred,^[7] located on the main road, which passed through it.

Ruxley was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, as a settlement of 20 households, with woodland, pigs and a mill located in the Hundred of Ruxley, within the Lathe of Sutton at Hone.^[9] At that time Ruxley was recorded as having more households than the surrounding settlements of North Cray, Foots Cray and St Paul's Cray, but less than Orpington, St Mary Cray, Bexley and Chelsfield.^[12] A family who possessed much of the lands of North Cray and Ruxley took their surname from Ruxley. Malgerius de Rokesle possessed the lands at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086,^[5][9] in the late 13th century Gregory de Rokesley, a wealthy wool merchant and goldsmith from Ruxley, moved to London and later served as the Sheriff of London, Lord Chamberlain and Lord Mayor of London at different times. In the thirteenth century, St Botolph's Church was constructed in Ruxley.^[6]

Ruxley was a distinct parish of its own, until 1557 when Cardinal Reginald Pole, the archbishop of Canterbury deconsecrated the church and united Ruxley parish with North Cray parish,^[5] located northwest of Ruxley. The new larger parish was sometimes referred to as North Cray with Ruxley,^[5][11] or sometimes just by the existing name, North Cray.^[13]

On 21 June 1819 William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst was born in Ruxley,^[14] he was a British military commander who served as Commander-in-Chief of India from 1865 to 1870.^[14][15]

The Hundred of Ruxley became obsolete at the end of the nineteenth century when new districts began to be created. In 1894 North Cray parish, including the settlement of Ruxley formed part of the newly created Bromley Rural District that existed from that year until 1934 when it was abolished.^[16] In 1934 North Cray and Ruxley became part of the Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District which was formed that year from the previous districts, Sidcup Urban District, Chislehurst Urban District, and a small part of the Bromley Rural District that contained North Cray and Ruxley.^[17] In 1965 the urban district and its parishes were abolished and Greater London and the London boroughs were created.^[17] Sidcup and North Cray were then part of the London Borough of Bexley and Chislehurst became part of the London Borough of Bromley, Ruxley ended up on the common boundary of the Bexley and Bromley boroughs, as the border between them in this location follows Maidstone Road, the main road that Ruxley is located on.^[1][2][3]

St Botolph's Church, a church dedicated to Botwulf of Thorney was built in the thirteenth century in Ruxley,^[6] on the south side of Maidstone Road.^[1] It was in use for around 300 years but was deconsecrated by Cardinal Reginald Pole in 1557,^[6] the same year he united Ruxley parish with that of North Cray into one parish.^[5] The church building was used as a barn for over 400 years and was used to store agricultural equipment.^[6] 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.^[6] Today the church is a Grade II listed building and a scheduled ancient monument^[6] on the grounds of Ruxley Manor Garden Centre,^[1][6] and is owned by the Evans family.^[6] Although many features are still intact, including the majority of the roof, the church is in disrepair, and appears as "remains of church" on Ordnance Survey maps.^[1] English Heritage have agreed to pay a grant of £35,000 of the estimated £62,000 needed for structural work on the building to help preserve it.^[6]

Originally dug between 1929 and 1951, Ruxley Gravel Pits is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, to the west of Ruxley, near Crittal's Corner roundabout; it is 18.7-hectare (46-acre) in size on the borough boundary with parts within the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley.^[2][3] The site is also a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, owned by the Environment Agency^[18][19] and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.^[20] Natural England has assessed its condition as "unfavourable recovering".^[21]

The site comprises four gravel pits, which are now lakes, and the River Cray runs through three of them, while the fourth is fed by springs. The A20 road Sidcup Bypass now cuts through the north side of the site.^[2][3] The bodies of water are also referred to as Ruxley Lakes,^[22] and although not open to the public they are also used for angling.^[22] 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.^[18][23]

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.^[18][23]

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.^[24]

There are three golf courses near by, two at Orpington Golf Centre to the south and one at Birchwood Park Golf further away to the east. Orpington Golf Centre is located immediately south of Ruxley and the A20 road Sidcup Bypass, its entrance is on Sandy Lane.^[2][3] This golf centre has two eighteen hole golf courses, Ruxley Park Golf Course on the western side^[2][3] built in 1975, and also has a driving range, and the much larger Cray Valley Golf Course on the eastern side,^[2][3] which also has an additional nine-hole course too.^[26][27] East of Ruxley near Upper Ruxley, is Birchwood Park Golf and Country Club, just into Kent,^[2][3] it has a main eighteen hole course and a nine-hole short course named Orchard Course; it also has a driving range and they are planning to open a new health and fitness club with gym and swimming pool.^[28]

Bromley Ski Centre, was located on Sandy Lane near Ruxley Park Golf Course, with a 120-metre dry ski slope and two lifts, plus indoor skiing, and snowboarding.^[29] The facility closed in March 2016 due to reduced usage and income.^[30] At Ruxley Manor just to the south of Maidstone Road, there is a 420 square metre artificial, outdoor, ice skating rink that has opened during the winter since 2012.^[31] An angling club named Orpington and District Angling Association uses Ruxley Lakes as one of their fishing sites.^[22]

Ruxley Wood, is a 40-acre woodland, about 500 metres across,^[2][3] and has been used to host paintballing for several years, there are seven game fields, some use wooden structures, others just the woodland for cover.^[32][33] The same area is also used for lasertag.

Several large retailers have used the open spaces in Ruxley next to the main roads to build stores, mostly Edgington Way. There is a Tesco superstore and petrol garage located in Ruxley on Edgington Way.^[39]

There are several Car dealerships in Ruxley, Porsche being next to the Tesco store, a BMW showroom on Maidstone Road^[40] and Toyota^[41] and Lexus showrooms also on Maidstone Road, on the Foots Cray side.

There is a Bookers cash and carry, wholesalers on Edgington Way, opposite The Tesco store.^[42] There is also a Screwfix warehouse, a BP garage and a timber merchant Alsford Timber Ruxley, and Selco Builders Warehouse on Edgington Way. In Upper Ruxley to the east, there is service area on the A20 road, Sidcup Bypass which includes a 24-hour McDonald's drive-through, another BP garage and a Subway restaurant. Several of the farms in and near Ruxley sell produce and goods straight to the public too.

Other services in Ruxley include a driving theory test centre,^[43] and Maidstone Road Re-Use and Recycling Centre, one of two council rubbish dumps in the London Borough of Bexley.^[44]

The Coca-Cola Company has a large manufacturing and bottling plant between Foots Cray and Ruxley which opened in 1961 and employs 361 people. This plant was where Dasani water was produced.^[45]

Richard Klinger Group, an Austrian company which made engine gaskets, hydraulic pipelines and water level gauges and valves, had a factory in Ruxley built in 1937 in a Modernist architectural style. The Klinger factory, which was later bought by French company Trouvey Cauvin, closed in the 1990s^[46] and the building was severely damaged by fire in 2013.^[47] It will shortly reopen as a self-storage facility, but only three facades have survived the conversion.