 The Benedictine Abbey's origins date back to 1086 when Alan Count of Brittany granted St Olave's Church and the adjoining land to the monk Stephen of Whitby, who became the first abbot of St. Mary's.When St Olave's Church became too small, a larger church in a Romanesque style was built nearby, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1089 by William II.This was replaced between 1270 and 1279 by a church in a Gothic style.