 The ruins themselves are now a public park, and in 2010-12 improvements were made to make them more accessible.The priory church was built in Norman style on the site of the earlier Church of St Botolph, the work having been completed by 1177 when it was dedicated.Unlike nearby St John's Abbey, St Botolph's Priory initially received little from rich patrons, despite an endowment from Henry I, and it was several decades before the priory church was fully built.