France: Le Bec-Hellouin, Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec

Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec (Abbey of Our Lady of Bec, also called Bec Abbey) is a Benedictine monastic foundation. The construction of the abbey started in 1034 by a man called Hellouin and continued through 1035. In the 12th century it was the most influential abbey of Anglo-Norman kingdom.

Bec Abbey was damaged during the Wars of Religion and left a ruin in the French Revolution but the 15th-century Tour Saint-Nicolas from the medieval monastery is still standing.

In 1948 the abbey was re-established as the Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec by a community of Benedictine monks of the Olivetan Congregation, who effected some restorations. Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec is the property of the French State, but there are still monks living in the abbey.