Crays Hill is a village in the Basildon borough of Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, England. The local school is Crays Hill Primary School. The River Crouch

River Crouch

The River Crouch is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex.The distance of the Navigation between Holliwell Point which is north of Foulness Island and Battlesbridge is 17.5 Miles, i.e. 15.21 Nautical Miles.-Route:...

 passes under Church Lane.

The village was listed in Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 of 1086 when the Lord of the manor and tenant-in-chief was Sasselin of Layer.

Crays Hill was part of the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Ramsden Crays

Ramsden Crays

Ramsden Crays is a civil parish in the Basildon District of Essex, England.The parish includes the village of Crays Hill....

 until 1934 when it was abolished to enlarge South Hanningfield

South Hanningfield

South Hanningfield is a small village and civil parish in south Essex, England. It is located approximately south-southeast of the county town of Chelmsford, and approximately 5 km South Hanningfield is a small village and civil parish in south Essex, England. It is located approximately ...

.

Dale Farm

Crays Hill is the site of Dale Farm

Dale Farm

Dale Farm is a plot of land on Oak Lane in Crays Hill, Essex, United Kingdom.Until October 2011, it was an Irish Traveller halting site which had been established without planning permission...

, once the largest Irish Traveller

Irish Traveller

Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...

 site in Europe. There has been a long-running legal battle by Basildon Council to evict the travellers who have illegally built upon green belt land. The council sent in police and bailiffs on 19 October 2011 to clear the disputed section of the site.