Saint Etienne: View of west facade with Romanesque towers

The Benedictine abbey of St Etienne was founded c. 1060 by William the Conqueror in expiation for his marriage to his cousin Matilda of Flanders. Three consecrations mark the stages of construction, carried out from east to west: 1073, 1077 (the choir, transepts and two bays of the nave) and 1081 (the remaining six nave bays); the fa\u00E7ade towers and the western nave bay were built in the last decade of the 11th century. The Romanesque east end was replaced in the later 12th century.