The abbey, built on the ruins of an 8C church, was begun in 1499 by Bishop Oliver King. From the pillars of the Norman church arose the pure late Perpendicular abbey. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1539), the abbey fell into disrepair but was restored in the late 16C and considerably altered by Sir Gilbert Scott (1864-1876). Inside, the nave, chancel and narrow transepts are crowned by fan vaulting.