ABBEY

An Abbey is a group of buildings, serving the needs of a self-contained religious community. It is headed by ab Abbot or Abbess. It is also used loosely to refer to priories, smaller monasteries under a prior. The first European abbey was Montecassino in Italy, founded in 529 by St. Bebedict of Nursia, who wrote the order that formed the basic foundation of monastic life in the Western world. In the 12th and 13th centuries, many abbeys were built in England, Scotland, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Austria. In France the monastic movement flourished to a greater extent than in any other country. One of the important Abbeys is the Westminster Abbey, London, England.

VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY
Picture taken from :  http://www.llangollen.com/valle.html

Acknowledgement: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/552/abbey