North Cray, Kent Genealogy

England   Kent England    Kent Parishes

Guide to North Cray, Kent family history and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



Parish History
CRAY, NORTH (St. James), a parish, in the union of Bromley, hundred of Ruxley, lathe of Sutton-atHone, W. division of Kent, 1 mile (N. by E.) from Foot's-Cray.

North Cray is a place in the London Borough of Bexley which was previously a civil parish see North Cray Wikipedia for further history.

North Cray St James is an Ancient Parish which united with the ancient parish of Ruxley in 1557 see Ruxley Northwest Kent Family History Society

The Parish Church of St James North Cray Road has been designated as a grade II listed building British listed building

See Edward Hasted The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2 (1797), pp. 141-162 at British History Online and Kent Churches website

See North Cray North West Kent Family History Society and North Cray

Civil Registration
See Bromley Registration district

Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre is the Diocesan Record Office for all the Church of England Parishes within the London Borough of Bexley. Reference PA102 St James', North Cray 1538-1992

Land Tax
Images for North Cray are available at FamilySearch Records see England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments (FamilySearch Historical Records) 1780-1831

Images are derived from Kent Archives 1987 microfilm

Land tax assessments for North Cray, 1780-1831 Family History Library BRITISH Film 1469937 Item 1

Census records
Census returns for North Cray 1841-1891

FamilySearch Records includes collections of census indexes which can be searched online for free. In addition FamilySearch Centres offer free access to images of the England and Wales Census through FHC Portal Computers here have access to the Family History Centre Portal page which gives free access to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions. to locate local Family History Centres in UK to locate outside UK. Many archives and local history collections in public libraries in England and Wales offer online census searches and also hold microfilm or fiche census returns.

Images of the census for 1841-1891 can be viewed in census collections at Ancestry (fee payable) or Find My Past (fee payable)

The 1851 census of England and Wales attempted to identify religious places of worship in addition to the household survey census returns.

Ancestry UK Census Collection

Find my Past census search 1841-1901

Prior to the 1911 census the household schedule was destroyed and only the enumerator's schedule survives.

The 1911 census of England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday 2 April 1911 and in addition to households and institutions such as prisons and workhouses, canal boats merchant ships and naval vessels it attempted to include homeless persons. The schedule was completed by an individual and for the first time both this record and the enumerator's schedule were preserved. Two forms of boycott of the census by women are possible due to frustration at government failure to grant women the universal right to vote in parliamentary and local elections. The schedule either records a protest by failure to complete the form in respect of the women in the household or women are absent due to organisation of groups of women staying away from home for the whole night. Research estimates that several thousand women are not found by census search. Find my Past 1911 census search

Poor Law Unions
Bromley Poor Law Union

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Kent Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

See England, Kent, Wills and Probate (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Local Family History Centre
Orpington Family History Centre, Kent is within the London Borough of Bromley, located adjacent to Orpington Station and on major bus routes through the borough.


 * FHC Portal This centre has access to the Family History Centre Portal page which gives free access in the centre to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.
 * Publication of the restricted access images England, Kent, Wills and Probate (FamilySearch Historical Records) and England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments (FamilySearch Historical Records) means that it is advisable to telephone the centre to reserve a computer if you wish to view these collections using the portal.

Web sites

 * Kent Online Parish Clerks (OPC)