Historically important as one of the ancient centres of Benedictine learning in Normandy, the Abbaye de Saint-Wandrille is something of a hybrid these days. The first community was founded by the saintly Count Wandrille in 649, but his abbey was laid waste during the Norse invasions. Rebuilt in the 10thC, its fortunes fluctuated, and it was briefly owned by a 19thC Marquis of Stacpool, who built the grand gateway on the street corner. Today, the monks preside over the 13th-15thC abbey ruins and a lovely cloister; they worship in a 15thC tithe barn bought here from the Eure.