It was in the early part of the 11th Century that a group of Savigniac monks were trying to establish themselves in England. They initially settled in Lancashire before moving up to Cumbria. Once established in the Lake District, they decided to set up another base in Coxwold, North Yorkshire. By 1177 the monks were under the Cistercian rule. They eventually cleared the area of forestry and drained the wet and boggy land and built a monastic church and cloisters. By the mid 13th Century Byland Abbey was completed and considered to be one of the finest monasteries in North Yorkshire, along with Fountains Abbey and Rievaux Abbey. It was after the supression of the monasteries in 1538 that the abbey fell into ruins. It wasn't untill the early 1900's that the site was partially cleared and made safe, much of the artifax was placed into the museum. Today the great west wall of the abbey forms a significant landmark in the surrounding countryside.