Sawley village grew up around the ruined Sawley Abbey, on the banks of the river Ribble. Its name refers to 'the damp spot where the willows grow'. The Abbey was founded by William Percy II in 1147, after he was given the land by William the Conqueror. Situated on a busy north-south road even then, the Cistercian Abbey provided accommodation for travellers and this made it an expensive place to run. The Abbey was never prosperous but it survived until 1537, when the monks abandoned it due to the failed Pilgrimage of Grace which attempted to challenge Henry VIII's orders to close the monasteries. The stone was plundered to build the village and now only part of the church and fragments of the cloisters remain.