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
Farewell Priory posed as Cistercian in the 12th century in order to secure the exemptions from [[tithe]]s enjoyed by Cistercian houses. This was contested by Augustinian [[Breedon Priory]], which had appropriated Breedon parish church and thus stood to lose tithes if Langley's claim was accepted. [[Pope Alexander III]] commissioned an investigation by the Cistercian [[abbot]] of [[Garendon Abbey]] and the Augustinian prior of [[St Mary's Abbey, Kenilworth|Kenilworth Priory]], which adjudicated in favour of the nuns. However, the nuns could not maintain their position for long and, in order to obtain exemption they were compelled in or about 1229 to hand over a