St Mary Cray
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| St Mary Cray | |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Bromley |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ORPINGTON |
| Postcode district | BR5 |
| Dial code | 01689 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | Orpington |
| London Assembly | Bexley and Bromley |
| European Parliament | London |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
St Mary Cray lies on the River Cray and is part of the London Borough of Bromley. St Mary Cray, like St Paul's Cray has been somewhat overshadowed by the growth of nearby Orpington, which now provides local communities with their main shopping and business activities. The area is now mostly suburban housing, and features St Mary Cray railway station, a High Street with a small parade of shops (at one time a longer high street, with more shops, than Orpington) and St Mary the Virgin church, after which the village was named. It was originally called South Cray, identifying it as the southernmost settlement of the river.
A dominant feature of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray are the industrial estates on Cray Avenue/Sevenoaks Way, home to retail outlets such as PC World, Comet, Land of Leather, Homebase, JJB Sports, MFI, Currys, Carpet Right and Arco. These retailers list their stores as Orpington branches. The art deco tower of the Allied Bakery, formerly Tip Top Bakeries, is a local landmark.
St Mary Cray has a large gypsy and Irish traveller community. In the past, hop and soft fruit farms in the area employed large numbers of itinerant workers.
Joseph Hume lived in the district for a time, and his son Allan Octavian Hume was probably born there.
Next to St Mary's Church is the historic Mary Rose Pub (http://www.a1tourism.com/uk/maryrose.html), which now incorporates a conference centre within its hotel accommodation.
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