 A Saxon church dedicated to St Botolph originally stood on the site of the priory, with a tower which resembled the Saxon tower of Holy Trinity church in Colchester.The church's conversion to an Augustinian priory began with a Kentish priest called Norman, who had studied under Anselm of Canterbury in France before returning to England and settling in Colchester.There, he joined a college of secular priests at the church of St. Botolph who had resolved to join a religious order, and whose leader, Ainulf, turned to Norman for advice on the matter.