5.1 - The decline

In the XVIc the fashion for pilgrimages declined and with that the fortunes of the abbey. The buildings fell into decay. In 1776 a fire destroyed 3 bays of the nave and the dormatory.
After the revolution the abbey became a prison. In 1870 it was decided to turn it into a national monument and Edward Corroyer was sent to oversee the work. The abbey was restored. Not allways as it had been but sometimes as it was thought it should have been.
It certainly merits it’s unofficial title as the Eighth wonder of the world.