Hundred of Ruxley
| Ruxley | |
|---|---|
 Map published in 1797 showing the hundred of Ruxleywith the hundred of Bromley and Beckenham. |
|
| Area | |
| • 1831 | 36,320 acres (147 km2)[1] |
| • 1831 | 36,320 acres (147 km2) |
| Population | |
| • 1831 | 12,329 [1] |
| • 1831 | 12,329 |
| History | |
| • Created | in antiquity |
| • Abolished | 1884 - 1965, see chart |
| • Succeeded by | Bromley Rural District, and Bexley Urban District, see chart |
| Status | obsolete |
| Government | hundred |
| • HQ | Ruxley |
| Subdivisions | |
| • Type | Parishes |
| • Units | Chelsfield, Cudham, Downe, Farnborough, Foots Cray, Hayes, Keston, Knockholt, North Cray, Orpington, St. Mary Cray, St. Paul's Cray, and West Wickham,[2][3] (plus Ruxley before 1557[4]) and parts of Bexley,[5] Chislehurst, Chiddingstone, and Hever .[3] |
Ruxley (previously Rokesley, and in the Domesday Book Helmestrei[6]) was an ancient hundred, a land division in the north west of the county of Kent, England. Its area has been mostly absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Ruxley district.[7] Its former area now corresponds to a majority of the London Borough of Bromley, a large part of the London Borough of Bexley and a small part of the Kent District of Sevenoaks.[8][9][10] The hundred was within the Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone,[2][3][4] in the west division of Kent.
The hundred was approximately fourteen miles (22.5 km) at its longest north to south and about eight miles (13 km) and its widest east to west. The River Cray was the largest river in the hundred of Ruxley flowing northward through six of its parishes, four of which are named after it. The River Cray rises in Orpington then flows through St. Mary Cray, St. Paul's Cray, North Cray, Foots Cray, and Bexley before crossing the northern border and Watling Street into the hundred of Lesnes.
As almost all the area of the Ruxley hundred has now been absorbed by the growth of London, and as civil parishes were abolished in Greater London, Knockholt which was in the south of Ruxley is the only parish of the Hundred that is a civil parish today. Knockholt is also the only part of this Kent Hundred that is in Kent today, although both would not have been true whilst Knockholt was in the London Borough of Bromley between 1965 and 1969.
Contents
Parishes
The parishes that were recorded as being wholly within the Ruxley hundred were Chelsfield, Cudham, Downe, Farnborough, Foots Cray, Hayes, Keston, Knockholt, North Cray, Orpington, St. Mary Cray, St. Paul's Cray, and West Wickham.[2][3] Also more parishes were recorded as being partly or sometimes within the hundred, they were: Bexley, Chislehurst, Chiddingstone, Hever, and Ruxley.[3][4][5] The Parish of Chislehurst was partly within the hundred of Blackheath, and the parish of Bexley was partly in the Codsheath Hundred. Some records show that Ruxley, at least for a time had an exclave to the south containing parts of two parishes, Hever and Chiddingstone, which are in the geographical area of the Somerden Hundred and usually included in it. The settlement of Ruxley itself had its own parish[5] until 1557 when it was absorbed into North Cray parish.[11][12]
Boundaries and neighbours
Ruxley occupied a central north-western position within the Sutton-at-Hone lathe, with borders with all but perhaps one of the other hundreds in the lathe. Ruxley was bordered by the hundreds of Little and Lesnes to the north, Dartford and Wilmington to the northeast, Axstane to the east and northeast (sometimes the hundred of Dartford and Wilmington and the hundred of Axstane were recorded as one hundred), Codsheath to the east and southeast Westerham and Edenbridge to the south; Ruxley's southwestern border was part of the Kent border with Surrey; Bromley and Beckenham bordered to the west and finally Blackheath to the northwest. The only hundred of the Sutton at Hone lathe that would have not have shared a common border with Ruxley was the Hundred of Somerden, the southernmost hundred of the lathe. However the Hundred Ruxley was recorded as having an exclave several miles to the south in the geographical area of Somerden, containing parts of the Hever and Chiddingstone parishes, and if the exclave is included, it would also give Ruxley a border with the Somerden Hundred, and thus give Ruxley borders with all other hundreds in the lathe of Sutton-at-Hone.
When Greater London was created in 1965 what was previously Ruxley's eastern and southern border with the hundreds of Dartford and Wilmington, Axtane, Codsheath, and Westerham became roughly part of the border between the London Boroughs of Bromley and Bexley and the Kent districts of Sevenoaks and Dartford (although Knockholt left the London Borough of Bromley and became part of the Kent district of Sevenoaks in 1969, moving part of the border in that area). Watling Street ran past the north side of the Bexley parish, and part of it formed some of Ruxley's northern boundary with Lesnes.
District replacement table
| Parish | Districts before 1934/35 | District 1934/35-1965 | Districts 1965-today | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knockholt | Bromley Rural District (1894–1934) | Orpington Urban District (1934–1965) | London Borough of Bromley (1965–1969) Sevenoaks Rural District (1969–1974) Kent District of Sevenoaks (1974-) |
Knockholt was in Greater London from 1965 to 1969 |
| Cudham | London Borough of Bromley (1965-) | |||
| Downe | ||||
| Farnborough | ||||
| Keston | ||||
| Orpington | ||||
| St. Mary Cray | ||||
| St. Paul's Cray | ||||
| West Wickham | ||||
| Hayes | Municipal Borough of Bromley (1934–1965) | |||
| North Cray | Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District (1934–1965) | London Borough of Bexley (1965-) | Ruxley was its own parish but was absorbed into North Cray parish in 1557 | |
| Ruxley | North Cray Parish (1557-1894) Bromley Rural District (1894–1934) | |||
| Foots Cray | Bromley Rural District (1894–1921) Sidcup Urban District (1921–1934) | Footscray parish was later called Sidcup parish | ||
| Chislehurst | Bromley Rural District (1894–1900) Chislehurst Urban District (1900–1934) | London Borough of Bromley (1965-) | Chislehurst parish was also recorded as being partly in the Hundred of Blackheath | |
| Bexley | Bexley Urban District (1894–1935) | Municipal Borough of Bexley (1935–1965) | London Borough of Bexley (1965-) | Bexley parish also was recorded as being partly in the Codsheath hundred |
| Chiddingstone | Sevenoaks Rural District (1894–1974) | Kent District of Sevenoaks (1974-) | Chiddingstone and Hever were within an exclave to the south and partly in the hundred of Somerden | |
| Hever | ||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hundred of Ruxley 1831 census on British History Online
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 An Historical Atlas of Kent, edited by Terence Lawrence & David Killingray (2004) ISBN 1-86077-255-2 - Maps front cover and back cover inlay
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Vision of Britain - Hundred of Ruxley - Divisions and changes
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Hundred of Ruxley at British History Online.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Helmestrei (Ruxley Hundred) recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) posted at Opendomesday.org
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mills, A. D., A Dictionary of London Place Names, p. 214 (2001) ISBN 978-0-19-956678-5
- ↑ Vision of Britain map shows old boundaries map
- ↑ Streetmap,co.uk shows present boundaries
- ↑ Nicholson Greater London Street Atlas Comprehensive Edition (2003) ISBN 0-583-33291-9 shows present boundaries
- ↑ North Cray and Ruxley, British History Online
- ↑ North Cray history at www.idealhomes.org
External links
- The Hundred of Ruxley at British History Online.
- The Hundred of Ruxley at Vision of Britain
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