When Roger de Montgomery received Shropshire from William the Conqueror in 1071, he gave the church to one of his clerks, Odelerius of Orléans, the father of the historian Orderic Vitalis, who is the main source for the foundation of the Abbey and probably an eye-witness. Orderic stresses his father's role in persuading Earl Roger to commit himself to building a monastery and stresses that Odelerius from the outset wanted it to be Benedictine. The specific purpose was to benefit Earl Roger's soul.