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Ruxley is a rural settlement of South East London, England that straddles the boundary of the London Boroughs of Bromley and Bexley. It is located 13 miles southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London, in the Metropolitan Green Belt between Sidcup and Swanley and is also adjacent to the Greater London border with the county of Kent.

Ruxley was a parish prior to 1557 and had its own thirteenth century church, St Botolph's. Ruxley's central location on the main road made it an important meeting place for the Hundred of Ruxley, which was named after it. Ruxley Gravel Pits is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest located on the west side of Ruxley. Today the area is known for Ruxley Manor, a large site with a garden centre and other retailers and services.

In 1086 the settlement of Ruxley was recorded in the Domesday Book as Rochelei It was also recorded as Rochelea and Rocheslea in 1175 as a parish and settlement Rokesle in the 1190s, as Rokeli in 1199, and Rokeslega in 1211, and Rooksley in 1719. The name possibly meant 'wood or clearing frequented by rooks' from the Old English words hroc (rook) and leah (wood clearing). It has also been suggested the first element may be from an Old English personal name Hroc or Hroca.

The hundred that covered Ruxley was originally called Helmestrei, a name that had been used since at least the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. By at least the late thirteenth century, the name Helmestrei was no longer in use, and the hundred came to be known as Hundred of Ruxley taking its new name from the settlement of Ruxley, which was the meeting place of the hundred, located on the main road, which passed through it.

Ruxley was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, as a settlement of 20 households, with woodland, pigs and a mill located in the Hundred of Ruxley, within the Lathe of Sutton at Hone. At that time Ruxley was recorded as having more households than the surrounding settlements of North Cray, Foots Cray and St Paul's Cray, but less than Orpington, St Mary Cray, Bexley and Chelsfield. A family who possessed much of the lands of North Cray and Ruxley took their surname from Ruxley. Malgerius de Rokesle possessed the lands at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, in the late 13th century Gregory de Rokesley, a wealthy wool merchant and goldsmith from Ruxley, moved to London and later served as the Sheriff of London, Lord Chamberlain and Lord Mayor of London at different times. In the thirteenth century, St Botolph's Church was constructed in Ruxley.

Ruxley was a distinct parish of its own, until 1557 when Cardinal Reginald Pole, the archbishop of Canterbury deconsecrated the church and united Ruxley parish with North Cray parish, located northwest of Ruxley. The new larger parish was sometimes referred to as North Cray with Ruxley, or sometimes just by the existing name, North Cray.

On 21 June 1819 William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst was born in Ruxley, he was a British military commander who served as Commander-in-Chief of India from 1865 to 1870.

The Hundred of Ruxley became obsolete at the end of the nineteenth century when new districts began to be created. In 1894 North Cray parish, including the settlement of Ruxley formed part of the newly created Bromley Rural District that existed from that year until 1934 when it was abolished. In 1934 North Cray and Ruxley became part of the Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District which was formed that year from the previous districts, Sidcup Urban District, Chislehurst Urban District, and a small part of the Bromley Rural District that contained North Cray and Ruxley. In 1965 the urban district and its parishes were abolished and Greater London and the London boroughs were created. Sidcup and North Cray were then part of the London Borough of Bexley and Chislehurst became part of the London Borough of Bromley, Ruxley ended up on the common boundary of the Bexley and Bromley boroughs, as the border between them in this location follows Maidstone Road, the main road that Ruxley is located on.

St Botolph's Church, a church dedicated to Botwulf of Thorney was built in the thirteenth century in Ruxley, on the south side of Maidstone Road. It was in use for around 300 years but was deconsecrated by Cardinal Reginald Pole in 1557, the same year he united Ruxley parish with that of North Cray into one parish. The church building was used as a barn for over 400 years and was used to store agricultural equipment. In the 1960s archaeological work was carried out on the site and found evidence of an older wooden building, suggesting there may have been an older Saxon church in the same location. Today the church is a Grade II listed building and a scheduled ancient monument on the grounds of Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, and is owned by the Evans family. Although many features are still intact, including the majority of the roof, the church is in disrepair, and appears as "remains of church" on Ordnance Survey maps. English Heritage have agreed to pay a grant of £35,000 of the estimated £62,000 needed for structural work on the building to help preserve it.

Originally dug between 1929 and 1951, Ruxley Gravel Pits is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, to the west of Ruxley, near Crittal's Corner roundabout; it is 18.7-hectare (46-acre) in size on the borough boundary with parts within the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley. The site is also a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, owned by the Environment Agency and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. Natural England has assessed its condition as "unfavourable recovering".

The site comprises four gravel pits, which are now lakes, and the River Cray runs through three of them, while the fourth is fed by springs. The A20 road Sidcup Bypass now cuts through the north side of the site. The bodies of water are also referred to as Ruxley Lakes, and although not open to the public they are also used for angling. Gravel extraction took place from 1929 to 1951, and once it ceased the pits attracted many species of birds and a diverse range of plants. In 1975 the site was designated an SSSI.

Over 500 species of vascular plants and 169 of birds have been recorded, including song thrush, reed bunting, kingfisher and skylark. Fifty-three of the bird species are breeding. Insects include 23 species of butterfly, 9 dragonfly and over 500 beetles. This variety reflects the diversity of habitat: wooded islands, fringes of mature trees, scrub, fen and open water. Vegetation on the banks include the rare club rush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani. The open water areas have rafts of yellow and white water-lily.

Access to the site is reserved to members of the Orpington and District Angling Society and permit holders. It is closed to members of the public.

A site where the original church and farm were, Ruxley Manor garden centre, is located here to the south of Maidstone Road, includes two large car parks and several plant nurseries. The site also has other services, it sells food, much of which is produced locally, and there are two restaurants named Mulberry Tree Restaurant, and The Coach House Restaurant, there is also a pet store with a specialist fish aquatic centre. Other activities on the site include a children's soft play area, a seasonal ice skating rink, and Santa's Grotto, with reindeer which live there permanently, plus a children's day care centre, Grace's Nursery.