Tag Archives: mulberry tree

An abbey at one end of London’s Elizabeth Line railway

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ONE BRANCH OF London’s recently opened Elizabeth Line terminates at Abbey Wood, which is in the southeastern Borough of Bexley. A few minutes’ walk away from the station brings one to a large park called Abbey Wood, which I visited for the first time yesterday, the 24th of July 2024. The park contains the ruins of a 12th century Augustinian abbey – Lesnes Abbey.

The abbey was founded in 1178 by Richard de Luci (1089-1179), Lord of the Manor of Lesnes and Chief Justiciar of England (something analogous to a modern ‘Prime Minister’). It is believed that he founded the abbey as a repentance for his sins and also for those related to the murder of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury cathedral in 1174. Unfortunately, Lesnes never became established as one of Engand’s greater monastic institutions. This might have been due to the large amounts of money it had to expend on draining its pastures, which were regularly flooded by the waters of the nearby River Thames.  In addition, the abbey developed a bad reputation because of its members disorderliness, which included many instances of immoral behaviour. Despite help from outside sources, the abbey continued to decline until it was dissolved (in 1525), along with many other religious establishments, by King Henry VIII.

After it was closed, the land and remains of the Abbey passed through various hands until it was bequeathed to Christ’s Hospital School in 1688. Between that date and 1933, the land was used as a farm by the school. From 1909 to 1913, the Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society carried out extensive archaeological investigations of the site of the abbey. One of their many discoveries was a stone effigy of a knight, who could be identified as being part of the de Luci family. It is now stored in the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. From 1939 to 1954, the new owners of the land, the London County Council, carried out further excavations. After that, in 1956, the ruins were made safe for visitors, and these can be viewed today. In 1986, the park and the ruins were transferred to the care of Bexley Borough Council, who have made the place very ‘user-friendly’ with excellent paths, helpful direction signs, information panels, and a lovely visitors’ centre with a small café.

The ruins are quite extensive and seen from a hillock above them, one can clearly see the ground plan of the abbey. Most of the ruins are low in stature, but a few walls of over 6 feet high are still standing. In what was once the abbey’s church, there are several carved pillar bases and other fragments of the original structure. Nothing apart from its ground plan remains of the cloisters, which were filled with picnickers and children when I visited. All in all, the ruins of Lesnes Abbey compare well with others I have seen during my travels in England and Wales. But they are not as spectacular as, say, Tintern Abbey in Wales and Fountains in Yorkshire. However, unlike the two mentioned, which take many hours to reach from London, Lesnes is a mere 26 minutes’ train ride from Bond Street.

I had not known of the existence of the ruins of Lesnes Abbey until a few days’ ago when I looked up mulberry trees on the Internet. One of the examples of mulberry trees that came up on the screen of my computer was that which is growing next to the ruins of Lesnes Abbey. According to the excellent guidebook to the abbey by Chris Hawkins, which I bought at the café, the mulberry at Lesnes was probably planted in around 1720. It was during this period that the monarch, hoping to establish an English silk industry, imported many mulberry trees to England. Unfortunately, the enterprise was doomed to failure because mulberry trees of the wrong variety were imported – the kind whose leaves were not suitable for feeding silkworms.  The ancient mulberry tree at Lesnes is flourishing but has grown in such a way that its huge twisting trunk must be supported by steel struts.

I can strongly recommend a trip to Abbey Wood to view the ruined abbey. Having seen it, I am surprised that this fascinating site it is not better known outside the confines of southeast London.

Leaning over but flourishing in Fulham

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I ARRIVED EARLY for a committee meeting of the Anglo-Albanian Association, which was being held in a house in Walham Grove in London’s Fulham district. It was a warm afternoon, and as I did not want to disturb our host by arriving too early, I sat on a bench in the small yard next to the north side of St Johns Church – a rather unexceptional example of early 19th century church architecture.

Soon, I noticed a tree in the middle of the yard. Its trunk was growing at about 30 degrees to the ground, and was supported by a wooden prop. Branches were growing out of the trunk, more or less vertically. There was a small commemorative notice at the base of the tree – where it had been planted originally. It bore the words:

“This mulberry tree was planted by His Worship the Mayor of Fulham Councillor JF Perotti JP on Victory Day June 8 1946”

On that day, celebrations were held in London to commemorate the Allied victory in WW2, the British Commonwealth, and the Empire. The Mayor, Mr Perotti, was a fitter at London Transport’s Lots Road electricity generating station.

In my mind, mulberry trees conjure up visions of silk growing and exotic landscapes of yesteryear. To be honest, until I saw the notice by the tree in the yard in Fulham, I would not have been able to identify a tree as being a mulberry. I stood up and examined it closely. To my great delight, I saw that the tree has berries. They looked like larger than average raspberries. I have read that when they ripen, they become darker in colour and resemble elongated blackberries.

I was curiously excited to find a mulberry tree with its fruit. I had not expected to find one in a busy part of Fulham. Mulberry trees have been grown in Britain since Roman times. One of the oldest surviving examples is in the garden of Canonbury Tower in Islington. It might have survived since the 16th century. There are several other slightly younger mulberry trees in London. So, the leaning example I saw in Fulham is a youngster on the scene.