Along with two other Norfolk estates, Horstead and Toft Monks, Lessingham was transferred to King's College from the ownership of Eton by Edward IV in 1462. This was to compensate the College for the seizure of much of its property following the deposition of Henry VI. A former cell of the Abbey of Bec in Normandy, Lessingham remained under the College's ownership until the twentieth century. The original grant also included the advowson of Lessingham rectory. The College sold the Lessingham land, along with nearby Haddiscoe, in 1921.