 This was because it had, in modern terms, become "dual use" containing a church within a church – a substantial section being dedicated to St Lawrence and used solely by the townspeople.Subsequently, the town purchased the abbey from the Crown for £100 in 1544 and then set about demolishing that very section, set aside as the church of St Lawrence, that had ensured its survival in the first place.The abbey survives today not least due to the efforts of the Reverend Edward Lyon Berthon during the 19th century who set about restoring it to some of its former glory.