Lesnes Abbey
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Lesnes Abbey was founded by Richard de Luci, Chief Justiciar of England, in 1178. It was dedicated to St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr, and belonged to the order of the Augustinian Canons. In 1179, de Luci resigned his office and retired to the Abbey, where he died three months later. He was buried in the chapter house.
It was one of the first monasteries to be closed after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1524, and the monastic buildings were all pulled down, except for the Abbott's Lodging. Henry Cooke acquired the site in 1541 and it eventually passed to Sir John Hippersley who salvaged building materials, before selling the property to Thomas Hawes of London in 1632. It was then bequeathed to Christ's Hospital in 1633. Some of the stone is said to have been used in the construction of Hall Place in nearby Bexley.
Some archaeological finds from the Abbey's site are displayed in Plumstead Museum at 232 Plumstead High Street and others are further east in the museum above Erith Library in Walnut Tree Road.
The former London County Council purchased the site of the ruins in 1930, which were opened to the public as a park in 1931. Since 1986, the site has been the property of the London Borough of Bexley. A branch of the Green Chain Walk passes the ruins on its way from Oxleas Wood to Thamesmead riverside.
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