Crowland abbey

I revisited a couple of clocks that needed slight attention and called on a client before setting off to Peterborough to see Sister Rachel.  I stopped on the way to take some shots of the abbey in the sunshine. 
Though the name of the town is 'Crowland', the abbey is properly 'Croyland', the result of a misspelling by a medieval monk. The abbey at Crowland dates to the early 8th century, though its roots go back even further. Legend tells that the island of Crowland was chosen by St. Guthlac as the site for his hermit's cell. Guthlac was a young man who turned away from the world and sought a life of contemplation.
He arrived at Crowland on St. Bartholomew's Day, 699 AD, and he dedicated his cell to that saint. At that time Crowland was literally an island, rising up out of the fens. It must have been a desolate spot in the 8th century - even the name suggests that; Crowland stems from Old English for "wild land".
Over time the hermit's reputation for holiness grew, and people began to seek him out. Among his supporters was Aethelbald, a claimant to the throne of the kingdom of Mercia. Guthlac prophesied that Aethelbald would one day gain the throne, and the nobleman swore that if the hermit were proved correct he would found a monastery in Guthlac's honour.
Sure enough, Aethelbald became king of Mercia, and on St. Bartholomew's Day 716 AD, two years after Guthlac's death, Aethelbald founded Croyland Abbey.