The nearest building to us is or was the Lay Brothers Refectory and the further building the Monk's Dormitory. The Abbey was built or founded in 1128 by William Gifford , Bishop of Winchester, and was the first Cistercian Monastery and remained as such for over 400 years until that Henry bloke did what he did with the Abbeys. On 12 October 1176 it was here that a grand parent of my wife and daughter died. It was William d'Aubigny 1st Earl of Arundel who married Henry 1st's second wife - Adeliza of Louvain. William now lies in Wymondham Abbey in Norfolk.

Abbeys and Cathedrals