Abbey Wood
Abbey Wood is a district in south east London, in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is south of Thamesmead and 10.6 miles east of Charing Cross. The area got its name from Lesnes Abbey Woods, which is to the east, and once belonged to the monks of Lesnes Abbey.
The history of the district goes back to the 12th century, when Richard de Luci, Chief Justiciar of England, founded the Abbey of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr at Lesnes in 1178. The Abbott of Lesnes Abbey was a significant local landlord, and took a principal part in draining the marshland. The draining and also the price of maintaining river embankments was one of the factors for the Abbey's desperate financial issues. It never became a big community, so in 1525 Cardinal Wolsey closed it under a licence to close monasteries of less than 7 inmates.
Abbey Wood railway station was opened in 1849, immediately to the north of the area now referred to as 'The Village', built where Knee Hill became Harrow Manorway. The Village had around 12 cottages and 2 pubs - the Abbey Arms plus the Harrow Inn. The Harrow Inn, which was destroyed in 2009, hosted live bands and was the scene of nightly migration as guests would relocate to the Abbey Arms each night, as Kentish closing times were 10:30pm whereas the Abbey Arms closed at 11pm.
