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The Great Britain Guide

Abbeys & priories · London

Lesnes Abbey

Norman & medieval♿ Wheelchair: limited

Lesnes Abbey — former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, London Borough of Bexley, England, UK.

Lesnes Abbey, abbeys & priories in London

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
45 min–1.5 h
Nearest railway station
Abbey Wood · 0.7 km
  • Family-friendly
  • Limited wheelchair access

About

Lesnes Abbey is an abbey, priory, or monastic site in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1101. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Wikidata describes it as: "former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, London Borough of Bexley, England, UK". Coordinates: 51.4885°, 0.1292°.

Photo gallery

Heritage listing

Lesnes Abbey is a former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, England. It is a scheduled monument, and the abbey's ruins are listed at Grade II by Historic England. The adjacent Lesnes Abbey Woods are a Local Nature Reserve. Part of the wood is the Abbey Wood SSSI, a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which is an important site for fossils of the early Tertiary period.

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Abbey Wood SSSI

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Lesnes Abbey is a former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, England. It is a scheduled monument, and the abbey's ruins are listed at Grade II by Historic England. The adjacent Lesnes Abbey Woods are a Local Nature Reserve. Part of the wood is the Abbey Wood SSSI, a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which is an important site for fossils of the early Tertiary period.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the area of Lesnes, close to the town of Erith, passed into the possession of Bishop Odo, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Loisnes in the Hundred of Litlelai. The year 1178 saw the foundation of the Abbey of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr at Lesnes, on a site now located in the suburbs of southeast London to the north of the ancient but long-managed Lesnes Abbey Woods that are named after it, where the land rises above what would originally have been marshland. It was the home for a small group of canons regular related to the Arroussian Order, a more relaxed version of the Augustinian canons, and subject to many reports over the years…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.4885, 0.1292
District
Bexley
Parish
Bexley, unparished area
Postcode
SE2 0AX
Parliamentary constituency
Erith and Thamesmead
Established
1101
Nearest railway station
Abbey Wood0.7 km

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Lesnes Abbey?
Lesnes Abbey is in London, United Kingdom (postcode SE2 0AX), in the parish of Bexley, unparished area.
When was Lesnes Abbey built?
Built or established in 1101.
Is Lesnes Abbey a listed building?
Lesnes Abbey is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
Is Lesnes Abbey a protected site?
Yes — Lesnes Abbey is part of the Abbey Wood SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
How do I get to Lesnes Abbey?
The nearest railway station is Abbey Wood, about 0.7 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode SE2 0AX.