 After the sudden Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century, Santa Cruz's wine and vineyards became less important in the new Arabic culture.The town lost much of its former regional economic clout and came to serve mainly as a grain depository for the region south of Toledo.In 1212 C. E., after Alfonso VIII of Castile and the Order of Calatrava drove the Moors from Central Iberia, the townspeople relocated and established around the Good Well (situated in front of what was then a convent, but is now the barracks of the Civil Guard) the town center that exists today.