Lesnes Abbey Woods, sometimes known as Abbey Wood, is a 73 ha ancient woodland in southeast

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. It is located near to, and named after, the ruined

Lesnes Abbey Lesnes Abbey is a former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, England. It is a scheduled monument, and the abbey's ruins are listed at Grade II by Historic England. The adjacent Lesnes Abbey W ...

in the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Boro ...

and gives its name to the

Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...

district. The woods are adjacent to Bostall Woods. The woods have several features dating back to the Bronze Age and a fine display of wild bluebells and daffodils in the Spring. The abbey kept fish ponds which were fed by a small stream running down through the woods, and these are still visible today though the water level is often low. Local community group Lesnes Abbey Conservation Volunteers (LACV) run practical conservation events to help manage the woodland. They are a registered

environmental conservation *Environmental protection *Nature conservation Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protec ...

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

run by local people. The charity was started in 1994, and works closely with Bexley Council who also provide the group with support, to protect and enhance the native wildlife and the important wildlife habitats of Lesnes Abbey Wood. Lesnes Abbey Conservation Volunteers objectives include: *To conserve and maintain for the public benefit Lesnes Abbey Wood and its local environment. *To advance public education in the principles and practices of nature conservation, and the archaeological and geological interest of Lesnes Abbey Wood and its environments. LACV is a community group which is open to all ages and abilities and works on a varied range of practical conservation tasks throughout the year. The group's conservation tasks include hedge laying, coppicing, fence repair, pond restoration, glade creation,

tree planting Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less re ...

and heath land restoration. The group also does various wildlife surveys in order to monitor the local native wildlife. Lesnes Abbey Woods is a Local Nature Reserve and includes the

geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, an important site for early

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

fossils.Natural England citation, Abbey Wood
/ref> Members of the public can dig for fossils in a small area called the ''Fossil Bank'' with the permission of the Lesnes Abbey ranger.

Gallery

File:Tumuli in Lesnes Abbey Woods.jpg, The surviving late prehistoric tumulus, or burial mound, atop the hill in the woods. It has been dug into and is heavily damaged. File:Nave of Lesnes Abbey.jpg, The nave of the church at the medieval Lesnes Abbey, with the woods south of it File:The Green Man Sculpture in Lesnes Abbey Woods.jpg, Tree carving in the woods File:Monk Statue in Lesnes Abbey Woods (I).jpg, Carving of a monk in Lesnes Abbey Woods

References

{{coord, 51, 29, 21, N, 0, 7, 41, E, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Ancient woods of London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bexley Walking in London Forests and woodlands of London Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London Special Areas of Conservation in England Local nature reserves in Greater London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Bexley