2011

TQ4778 : The chapter house at Lesnes Abbey

taken 12 years ago, near to Belvedere, Bexley, England

The chapter house at Lesnes Abbey
The chapter house at Lesnes Abbey
Lesnes Abbey was founded by Richard de Luci, Chief Justiciar of England, in 1178. This may have been in penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, in which he was involved. 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. In a nearby chapel is the burial place of the heart of his great great grand-daughter, Roesia of Dover - see Link The monks of Lesnes Abbey took a leading part in draining the marshland to the north, but this and the cost of maintaining river embankments led to chronic financial difficulties for the Abbey. It never became a large community, and was closed by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525, under a licence to suppress monasteries of less than seven inmates. The ruins were excavated in 1910 and now, backed by Lesnes Abbey Woods, provide an enormous contrast to Thamesmead which was built to the north on those same marshes which caused the ultimate failure of Lesnes Abbey. This view is of the former chapter house where the monks held their meetings. The bench around the edge where they would have sat is still evident. Beyond can be seen the tower blocks of the first phases of Thamesmead. The Abbey is on the route of the Green Chain Walk.

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Marathon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Ruins were Excavated in 1910 [49] · Green Chain Walk [34] · Towers of Thamesmead [14] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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TQ4778, 259 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Marathon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 27 November, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 28 November, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 4792 7881 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:29.3338N 0:7.7495E
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 4793 7880
View Direction
North-northwest (about 337 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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