Site History
The ruins of Lesnes Abbey dedicated tor St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr is situated across the northwest side of the London Borough of Bexley in parkland and ancient woodland some 88 hectares in extent.
The abbey was founded in c.1178 AD by Augustinian monks from their mother church of Aldgate Priory City of London, one of the most wealthy orders in early medieval Britain.
Records show that parts of the early abbey were built from funding donated by Richard de Luci “Chief Justice to Henry ll and lord of Erith Manor” along with other members of his family.
In 1170 Henry ll and Richard de Luci were implicated in the murder of Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury, and it is suggested that by c.1187 he was trying to atone by funding construction of the abbey.
The abbey was laid out across the western side of the de Luci estate on a raised promontory just above the northern marshland and floodplain of the River Thames. From this vantage point the abbey would have been visible to everyone travelling up and down this part of the Thames River Valley. The river at this point also linked into a navigable inlet channel along the western side of the abbey, which created good riverine access to the site.
Further south the abbey site was protected by a steep heavily wooded terraced cliff, some 160m in height, with a few narrow trackways down through it.
Throughout its long history of some 350 years, various parts of the abbey were extended, converted and altered, much of which appears to have been funded by either wealthy benefactors, self-sufficient farming income, pilgrims and possibly later rental of buildings within the abbey precinct. As such it appears that initially Lesnes Abbey prospered, but later on went through periods of structural deterioration, disasters and decline, partly due to lack of finance, bad decisions-management and corruption.
By c.1524-25 Lesnes Abbey was closed down as part of Henry Vlll’s dissolution of the lesser monasteries, after which the buildings and land became part of large farming estate.