Ripon as the Liberty of Ripon and it was during this time that a grand Collegiate Church was built on top of the ruins of Wilfrid's building. Eventually developed in the Gothic style, the project owed much to the work of Roger de Pont L'Evêque and Walter de Gray, two Archbishops of York during the Plantagenet era. During the 12th century Ripon built up a booming wool trade, attracting Italian trade merchants, especially Florentines, who bought and exported large quantities. Ripon's proximity to Fountains Abbey, where the Cistercians had a long tradition of sheep farming and owned much grazing land, was
Strata Florida Abbey Strata Florida Abbey Strata Florida Abbey () () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. "Strata Florida" is a Latinisation of the Welsh "Ystrad Fflur"; "Valley of Flowers". The Welsh word "ystrad" is synonymous with "strath" and "dale", while "fflur" ("flower") is also the name of the nearby river. The Monastery was founded in 1164 by the Cambro-Norman Knight Robert FitzStephen (c 1123—1183). In the 12th century, Cistercian monks from Whitland Abbey, Narbeth, Carmarthenshire started to construct a religious settlement on the banks of