The name Barnes Cray House dates from 1750 when Miles Barne inherited the May Place estate.
It is thought that there was a building on the site of Barnes Cray House from the late 17th century.
In 1843, a bankrupt calico printer - Augustus Applegath - took up residence after having to sold Shenstone, his Crayford home. It was later occupied by a carpet manufacturer and then a farmer.
At the turn of the twentieth century the property was modernised creating a riverside garden.
In 1913 the house was bought by the Vickers company who installed their Crayford Works Superintendent at the house.
Once the factory was closed, the became the possession of Crayford Urban District Council. Between 1923 and 1936 it was a maternity hospital. Barnes Cray House was then demolished and the site used for new housing.
