When Guthlac arrived in Crowland at the end of the 7th century, it was described as a 'lonely island in the dismal fenlands' – indeed, a perfect environment for him to continue his rigid penance in solitude. Following his death in AD714, many miracles were recorded here and his tomb became a centre of pilgrimage. King Aethelbald of Mercia, a dear friend of Guthlac, helped the Benedictine monks to build a monastery in his memory. However, a Danish invasion in AD866 caused devastation to the monastery and the community.

Refounded again during the reign of King Edred, it was subject to a fairly traumatic early history. Records show that it suffered a destructive fire in 1091 and, after reconstruction some twenty years later, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1118. The next phase of rebuilding didn't last much longer when in 1170 much of the abbey and the church burned down. However, from this point forward, the fortunes of Croyland Abbey began to prosper and it soon became one of the largest and most richly endowed monasteries in East Anglia.

At the time of the Dissolution in 1539, when the abbot surrendered the monastery to King Henry VIII, there were 27 monks living at Croyland Abbey and its estimated wealth was somewhere approaching £1,200. Over the next one hundred years, the monastic site passed through various hands but in 1643 the abbey was fortified by the Royalists, but ultimately taken by Cromwell.

Once a magnificent church stood as the focal point of the monastery, but only the north aisle survives today as the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Bartholomew, and Saint Guthlac. As the town of Crowland grew up around the abbey, the north aisle of the church had been walled off by the monks to accommodate a place of worship for the local people. Consequently, at the Dissolution, it was already in use as the parish church and was saved from destruction. Originally, the nave comprised nine bays with aisles 183ft (55m) long, there was an apsidal choir of five bays 90ft (27m) long, a central tower and a detached bell tower at the east end of the church. The first bells to be hung in Britain were in Croyland Abbey church in AD900, surrounded by the legend of a miracle of St Guthlac.

Standing today as little more than a picturesque ruin, is the elaborately decorated west front of the church, together with a few surviving piers and arches of the nave, and some external buttressing. What a delightful backdrop to a still thriving community. Even the church bells are renowned for their beautiful sound today, albeit they are not those from the 10th century.

Remaining a relatively small town in the south of Lincolnshire, Crowland is a delightful place to visit. As well as the magnificent medieval abbey, there is a unique 14th century triangular bridge to discover, an early 18th century coaching inn (The Abbey Hotel), and relaxing riverside walks along the banks of The Welland.