The archaeology suggests that the abbey was built around an earlier church that may have been built during the time of Hugh de Morville, circa 1157. A long stretch of walling is suggestive of being the south side of the nave of this earlier foundation. The remnants of the chapter house bordering the cloisters and a passageway may have been built during the 1180s. Richard de Morville may have been responsible in around 1190-1200 for the great processional arch between the gable and the wall; dying in 1189 this may also have been a bequest or gift. Uniquely this arch has a Norman style capital bearing two carved figures, said to be Adam & Eve.