Description
Chalk Wood is a belt of woodland that with the adjacent Joydens Wood to the north forms an extensive block of ancient woodland that has existed since at least 1600. In the middle is an area of old heathland.
Practical Information
| Site location | Parsonage Lane, North Cray |
|---|---|
| Postcode | DA14 5EZ |
| What3Words | ///save.drums.wipes |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Bexley |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | permitted horse ride |
| Public Transport | Rail: Bexley then bus. Bus 492. |
| Research Updated | 1 December 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ497711 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 28.8 |
| Site Ownership | LB Bexley |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Bexley |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Metropolitan Importance |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Although much of the wood has been planted in recent years there is a record of woodland here in Tudor times and also mention is made of tile kilns when it was part of the Manor of Baldwyns in the C16th. On a map of Kent of 1769 it is named Jordan's Wood and was part of the Mount Mascal estate, but by 1805 the spelling had become Joydens Wood. In 1884 parts of the wood were sold off, some of it later developed for housing in the 1930s. In 1956 the Forestry Commission took over what was then known as the Big Wood, cleared much of the stunted oaks and other native trees in order to plant compartments of cash crop trees.
North Cray Poultry Farm was formerly part of the site of a C19th villa, Cray Hall, the grounds of which are now in divided ownership as a result of the property being sliced through by the dual carriageway of North Cray Road. There are several good trees including a large weeping beech in the forecourt. The lodge is no longer part of the property. Other trees include lime, horse chestnut and Lebanon cedar, and there is vestigial parkland to the south.
St James's Church dates from at least the C12th, and was once the private chapel for North Cray Place, a number of whose owners were buried here. The church was substantially rebuilt in 1852 and enlarged in 1870. The small churchyard is surrounded by brick walls on 3 sides, its east wall once forming a boundary with the kitchen garden of North Cray Place. At the west end of the churchyard are handsome early C18th gates.
