Lesnes Abbey, London

Within easy reach of central London at Abbey Wood, Lesnes Abbey is a millennia-old archaeological site, a fossil pit, an ancient woodland, and more!

Introducing Lesnes Abbey

Frequent readers of the Salterton Arts Review might remember I visited Lesnes Abbey as part of Open House 2024, and teased a longer post on Lesnes Abbey. I saw so many wonderful buildings and neighbourhoods during my Open House week, but Lesnes Abbey stood out to me as worthy of its own post. There are a couple of reasons for that: primarily its long history, and to encourage more of my fellow Londoners to visit.

I said in my (not so) recent post that, despite knowing how literal many London place names are, it had never even occurred to me that there was an abbey in a wood at Abbey Wood. But guess what – there was! We will get more in detail about its history and current form shortly, but I think one of the key points here is that it’s a great archaeological site within easy reach of central London. Even easier to reach, in fact, now that you can get there via the Elizabeth Line.

As an archaeology lover, I’ve travelled much farther for much less in the way of ruins. The remains of Lesnes Abbey are fairly extensive, free to visit, and set in woodland with more attractions besides (we will also get onto this in a bit). It may become my go-to unexpected half day outing when fellow history geeks come to stay. If, like me, Lesnes Abbey had hitherto passed you by, read on to learn more ahead of your own visit.

A History of Lesnes Abbey: Part I

The story of Lesnes Abbey actually begins with the story of Thomas Becket. Or his death, at least. You may recall we have learned something about this before. Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162. He clashed with King Henry II over the rights of the church, culminating in the infamous murder in the cathedral in 1170. Whatever the King’s actual involvement, the murder was carried out by his followers believing they were doing his bidding, so the church was not best pleased. Henry submitted to public penance, and several of his followers had to make amends, too.

And so we come to Richard de Lucy (or de Luci). Let’s start by noting he was known as Richard the Loyal. When Henry II came to the throne he was made Chief Justiciar (like a Prime Minister), at first jointly and later on his own. Richard, being loyal, had supported Henry in his spat with the late and saintly Archbishop. He therefore shared in his penance, too. Either of his own accord or because he was ordered to, Richard founded an abbey in 1178 in the grounds of the Manor of Lesnes. Fittingly, its position to the East of London meant it became part of the pilgrimage route to Canterbury, the site of Thomas Becket’s martyrdom.

The Abbey of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr is on a sloping site. Marshland once lay between it and the Thames, making it convenient to bring in building materials by river. The Abbey was of the Augustinian order, part of the Diocese of Rochester. Evidence shows the Abbey church probably closely resembled Rochester’s still-intact and similarly-dated cathedral. The first Abbot, William, took office in 1179. That’s the same year Richard de Lucy died, having spent his last days as a lay brother at Lesnes.

A History of Lesnes Abbey: Part II

Right, we’ve done the first ten years, but still have almost a millennia to go. De Lucy left half his lands in Lesnes to the Abbey. Apart from some brief periods of prosperity there was never quite enough money, though, and Lesnes Abbey was never hugely successful. It was actually shut down just before the Restoration as part of a cost saving measure for abbeys with very few inmates, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Under the second Abbot, Fulc, Lesnes Abbey became affiliated to the Abbey of Arrouaise in France. It was one of only a handful of English abbeys to do so. The affiliation determined the rules and structures followed by the resident monks. As well as overseeing religious duties, the Abbots of Lesnes also had their minds on practical affairs. Archaeological evidence shows a lot of building work over the years, for instance. The proximity of the river and marshes also meant building and maintaining flood defences. This was actually behind a good portion of the Abbey’s financial difficulties. That and financial mismanagement.

But as I said, Lesnes Abbey didn’t quite survive to the Dissolution of the Monasteries which began in 1536. Back in 1524, Cardinal Wolsey got the Pope’s permission to close monasteries with fewer than eight residents to raise funds to found a new college at Oxford. And Lesnes Abbey only had an Abbot and five canons. It was thus one of the first monasteries in England to be dissolved. It became the property of Cardinal College, Oxford, and then King Henry VIII.

The Abbey’s Afterlife and Preservation

We know from experience that England’s abbeys often had interesting afterlives, and survived in different ways. Take Anglesey Abbey for instance, or Wilton House, both of which started as seized religious property. Henry VIII received Lesnes Abbey in 1530 after the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey. In 1534 he granted it to Sir William Brereton. It didn’t stay in one family’s hands, however, but passed through a succession of owners including Christ’s Hospital from 1633.

Lesnes Abbey, which stood on good agricultural land, thus became a farm. The Abbot’s Lodging remained as a manor house until the 1840s, and there was a barn that survived until the early 20th century. But otherwise the buildings disappeared one by one over the years with much of the stone repurposed elsewhere.

As archaeology became more popular in the early 20th century, interest in Lesnes’s history increased. Christ’s Hospital authorised a first dig in 1910 by the Woolwich Antiquarian Society. Excavations lasted three years and found some interesting artefacts as well as fully mapping the site. What we see today is largely the result of archaeological work in the 1950s. As is often the case they didn’t use the same techniques we would today: for instance the visible foundations are a blend of original foundations and 1950s additions. They follow the original plan but are not always original stones.

Visiting Lesnes Abbey today (if you don’t have the benefit of an archaeologist guide like I did), there are interpretative panels to help you make sense of the ruins. You can clearly see the outlines of the sleeping quarters, chapter house, church, and other abbey features. Some of the alterations made over the years are also visible. With a bit of imagination, the once-bustling abbey (bustling with pilgrims at least, if not with monks) comes back to life.

Abbey Wood

I promised you not just an abbey, but some further points of interest in the surrounding area. Let’s take a look at those now. And we will start with Abbey Wood. These are ancient woodlands, and I highly recommend taking the time to take a walk through them. On your way, look out for something I would also travel for – a fossil pit! This area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and has fossils from the Eocene Epoch (54.5 million years ago). The public can try their hand at fossil hunting under certain restrictions, and might find remains of mammals, reptiles, fish or birds. Take a look at the images above to see my find.

Elsewhere there is a Monk’s Garden with herbs they would have grown for their infirmary. There’s also an arboretum with rare native trees and a few ‘living fossils’ – species that look unchanged from their equivalents in the fossil record. Various sculptures and a couple of trails complete the experience of Lesnes Abbey Woods proper.

Between the woods and Abbey Wood station there are some nice wooded paths, the type that feel almost like you might accidentally step out into a different century. I noticed on Google Maps there was some sort of memorial to William Morris so went off to find it, but I do not recommend this unnecessary detour. It was a) hard to find, b) disappointingly modern and c) only a monument to a point Morris apparently frequently passed on his way to somewhere else.

Odd monuments aside, I had a great half day in Abbey Wood. Lesnes Abbey is a fascinating, free to visit archaeological site, and the surrounding woodland is also well worth spending some time in, with or without your fossil gathering equipment. I hope I’ve inspired you to plan your own visit, I think this is one of London’s hidden gems!

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5