The former Lesnes Abbey is in the appropriately named Abbey Wood in Bexley, south east London. The abbey was founded in 1178 dedicated to St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr. The abbey was founded by Richard de Luci, Chief Justicar of England under King Henry II. It is thought founding the abbey may have been de Luci's penance for his role in the events which led up to the murder of Thomas Becket.
The abbey was involved in the draining of local marshland but the cost of this contributed to the abbey's unstable financial position. It was one of the first monasteries to be closed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1534. Nearly all of the abbey's buildings were demolished, the area becoming farmland. In the early 1900s the site was excavated by archaeologists, remains of the walls of the abbey's buildings can give an idea of the size and layout of the religious house.
