About Crayford
Kent roots, London borough today, covered door to door
Crayford is officially part of the London Borough of Bexley — it was folded in from Kent in 1965, along with Bexley and Erith, to form the modern borough. But the town keeps its own distinct identity: settlement here dates back to the Iron Age, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records a battle fought at the River Cray in 457AD between Britons and invading Jutes. The Roman road now known as Watling Street ran straight through, and St Paulinus Church, dating from the 12th century, still stands on the hill above the town.
Crayford's more recent history includes a genuine surprise: the Vickers works here played a significant role in early British aviation and armaments manufacturing. Today the town centres on retail, with a large Sainsbury's and the Tower Retail Park built on part of the old Vickers site. For full borough-wide coverage of Bexley, see our dedicated Bexley page — this page focuses on Crayford itself, on Bexley's eastern edge closest to Dartford.
