Open access. Fine old reclining Black mulberry to the north of the ruins of Lesnes Abbey, which was founded in 1178 by Richard de Luci, Chief Justiciar of England and dedicated to St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr. The monastery buildings were mostly destroyed after its suppression by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525 (2) The tree stands roughly where the Abbot's lodgings and kitchen gardens would have been. According to the website: "Henry Cooke, who acquired the site in 1541, retained the Abbot's Lodging as a mansion house of the manor of Lesnes. The Abbey site later came in to the possession of Sir John Hippersley, who had it dug over for building materials. He then sold it in 1632 to Thomas Hawes of London who bequeathed it to Christ's Hospital in 1633, in whose possession it remained until 1930, when the London County Council purchased it. In 1931 Lesnes Abbey was opened to the public as a park and since 1986 the site has belonged to London Borough of Bexley." (3) Further research shows that the house became a farmhouse up until 1845 when it was demolished and replaced by a more modern farmhouse. Photos show what could be the mulberry immediately to the (north) west of the house. This house was demolished in 1930. The tree could therefore have survived from the mid-17th c but was possibly planted later, perhaps even around 1845. The tree was not always so well exposed, being close to buildings, but could have grown more rapidly since the 1930s.

Public transport: Abbey Wood rail.

Find out more at www.bexley.gov.uk/article/3907/Lesnes-Abbey-ruins Pc own research

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