I am leaving the details of the Abbey to the more capable hands or Mr. Beaghen, our Vicar, but must state that this glorious building, of which only one third remains, became one of the finest in England, with a spire 23 feet taller than that of Salisbury Cathedral, with one of the finest Libraries in Europe, and with lands extending from Cornwall to Yorkshire. It lasted for 847 years, until the Reformation, when it had already fallen into decay; its Monks dissolute, and its treasures scattered. The wonderful manuscripts were thrown to the winds and as late as the late nineteenth century they were being used as "bungs for beer barrels, for wrapping up parcels, and for glove making and such mundane affairs." What a tragedy.