| Lessness Heath | |
|---|---|
  Lessness Heath Location within Greater London | |
| OS grid reference | TQ495785 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BELVEDERE |
| Postcode district | DA17 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
Lessness Heath is a district in the London Borough of Bexley, in the area of Belvedere.
Lessness was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, as the largest settlement in the Hundred of Litlelee in Kent and contained 68 households at that time. [1] [2]
The name of Lessness Heath has changed over the centuries. It was recorded as Leosne in the mid 11th century, Lesneis and Loisnes in 1086 in the Domesday Book, Hlosness in the late 11th century and Lesnes in 1194. [3] At around 1762, Emanuel Bowen recorded the place as Leesing on one of his maps, then in 1805 an Ordnance Survey map recorded it as Lesness Heath. [3] It has been suggested the name may be from an Old English word hlēosne, the plural of hlēosn meaning 'Burial mound' or 'shelter', later possibly adding the word næss meaning 'headland' to the end.
Lessness Heath gave its name to the ancient hundred, the Hundred of Lessness, [3] and was the meeting place for residents of the hundred to discuss matters. [4] In 1178, the Abbey of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr at Lesnes, Lesnes Abbey, was founded near Lessness Heath and named after it.
Domesday Book – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of William I, known as William the Conqueror. Domesday has long been associated with the Latin phrase Domus Dei, meaning "House of God". The manuscript is also known by the Latin name Liber de Wintonia, meaning "Book of Winchester". The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in 1085 the king sent his agents to survey every shire in England, to list his holdings and calculate the dues owed to him.
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 Borough of Bexley is within the Thames Gateway, an area designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. The local authority is Bexley London Borough Council.
Meldreth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Cambridge. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 1,783.
Belvedere is a town in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies close to the River Thames, with Erith to the east, Bexleyheath to the south, and Abbey Wood and Thamesmead to the west. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Belvedere was in the administrative county of Kent.
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 Woods are a Local Nature Reserve. Part of the wood is the Abbey Wood SSSI, a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which is an important site for early Tertiary fossils.
Brasted is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Brasted lies on the A25 road, between Sundridge and Westerham; the road is named Westerham Road, High Street and Main Road as it passes through the village east to west. Brasted is 6 km west of Sevenoaks town. The parish had a population of 1321 and includes the hamlets of Brasted Chart, Toys Hill and Puddledock. The village of Brasted has a number of 18th-century houses with several antique shops, pubs and residences. The parish church is dedicated to St Martin.
Pirton is a large village and civil parish three miles north-west of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census is 1,274. The church, rebuilt in 1877, but with the remains of its 12th-century tower, is built within the bailey of a former castle, Toot Hill. Pirton Grange, which was remodelled in the 18th century, is in the north of the parish, and is a particularly interesting, moated Elizabethan house with a timber framed gatehouse. Hammonds Farm and Rectory Farm, with its tithe barn, are also Elizabethan.
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 10.6 miles (17 km) east of Charing Cross.
Abbots Bickington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon, located 7.7 miles north-northeast of Holsworthy and near the River Torridge.
Culpho is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of the centre of Ipswich and 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) west of Woodbridge.
East Wickham is a district in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It is situated north of Welling, east of Shooter's Hill, south of Plumstead, south-west of Abbey Wood and west of West Heath, and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, East Wickham was in the administrative county of Kent.
Becontree was an ancient hundred in the south west of the county of Essex, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of London; with its name reused in 1921 for the large Becontree estate of the London County Council. Its former area now corresponds to the London Borough of Newham, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and parts of the London Borough of Waltham Forest and the London Borough of Redbridge. Its early extent also included parts of what is now the London Borough of Havering.
Blackheath was an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of Greater London; the name "Blackheath" now refers to a locality of SE London. Its former area now corresponds to the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the London Borough of Lewisham and part of the London Borough of Bromley.
Ruxley is a small settlement in southeast London, England, with no present formal boundaries. It is located 21 km (13 mi) southeast by east of Charing Cross, in the northeast corner of the London Borough of Bromley on the borough boundary with the southeast corner of the London Borough of Bexley, and is also adjacent to the Greater London border with Kent, overlapping into the Sevenoaks District and Borough of Dartford in Kent. Ruxley lies east of Sidcup and west of Swanley, on green belt land, where two main roads pass through east-west connecting London to the coast. Ruxley was a parish prior to 1557 and had its own thirteenth century church, St Botolph's. Ruxley's central location on the main road made it an important meeting place for the Hundred of Ruxley, which was named after it. Today still a major transport route, Ruxley's location on green belt land is on the edge of London's urban sprawl, industrial and residential areas are found on the west side, but to the east this quickly turns into more rural woodland and farmland. Ruxley Gravel Pits is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest located on the west side of Ruxley. Today the area is known for Ruxley Manor, a large site with a garden centre and other retailers and services.
Ruxley was an ancient hundred, a land division in the north west of the county of Kent, England. Its area has been mostly absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Ruxley district. Its former area now corresponds to a majority of the London Borough of Bromley, a large part of the London Borough of Bexley and a small part of the Kent District of Sevenoaks. The hundred was within the Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, in the west division of Kent.
Frinsted or Frinstead is a small village and civil parish in the ecclesiastical parish of Wormshill and in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. and has been a recorded settlement as far back as the Domesday Book and indeed was the only settlement in the surrounding area to be described at the time to have a church. The village exists in the Hundred of Eyhorne.
Sutton-at-Hone is a village in the civil parish of Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located 3.5 miles south of Dartford & 3.6 miles north east of Swanley.
Little and Lesnes was a hundred, a historical land division, in the county of Kent, England. It occupied the northern part of the Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, within in the west division of Kent. Little and Lesnes was the northernmost hundred in the whole county of Kent. The hundred existed since ancient times, before the Domesday Book of 1086, until it was made obsolete with the creation of new districts at the end of the nineteenth century.
St Botolph's Church is a church building in Ruxley, in the London Borough of Bromley, southest London, England. It was constructed in the thirteenth century and dedicted to Botwulf of Thorney. St Botolph's was used as a church for around 300 years but was deconsecrated in 1557. The church was then used a farm building for over 400 years and the remains of an oast house are still adjacent to it. In the 1960s archaeological work was carried out on the site and found evidence of an older wooden building, suggesting there may have been an older Saxon church in the same location. Today the church is a Grade II listed building and a scheduled ancient monument on the grounds of Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, although many features are still intact, the church is in disrepair and English Heritage have agreed to pay a grant to help preserve the building.
