The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and grew to become the wealthiest religious establishment within Leicestershire.

Through patronage and donations the abbey gained the advowsons of countless churches throughout England, and acquired a considerable amount of land, and several manorial lordships.

A few years later, in 1538, the abbey was dissolved, and was quickly demolished, with the building materials reused in various structures across Leicester, including a mansion which was built on the site.

The remaining 32 acres (13 ha), which included the abbey's site and the ruins of Cavendish House, were donated to the council by the 9th Earl of Dysart in 1925 and, following archaeological excavations, opened to the public in the 1930s.

These monasteries were often founded by a wealthy aristocratic benefactor who endowed and patronised the establishments in return for prayers for their soul, and often, the right to be buried within the monastic church.

[3] Under the Abbotship of William Clowne (tenure: 1345–1378) the abbey prospered, increasing their lands and endowments with acquisitions such as the manors of Ingarsby and Kirkby Mallory.

Clowne is described as having "friendly relations" with King Edward III, and used this to gain further privileges for the abbey, including being exempted from having to send representatives to Parliament.

[8][9] Following the deaths of canons within the abbey, Knighton theorises that it was punishment because of "the ordination of candidates ill-prepared and but little suited for the sacred ministry".

Sadyngton was accused of various unsavory practices: of accepting unsuitable boys into the almonry in return for money, of "pocketing various minor revenues", of "keeping the offices of treasurer and cellarer in his own hands" and of not disclosing the abbey's accounts to his canons.

Pescall's extravagances included an "excessive number of hounds", which were known to roam freely "fouling church, chapter house and cloister"; whilst the Bishop complained the boys in the almonry were being improperly educated.

He fell from favour after failing to secure papal permission for Henry to divorce his wife Katherine of Aragon, and on 4 November 1530 was arrested for treason.

The journey took Wolsey through Leicester, and he arrived at the abbey on 26 November, declaring: "Father abbott, I ame come hether to leave my bones among you".

[11] By the time Pescall was removed, the abbey's financial position was poor: Despite being the richest monastery in Leicestershire (with an income of £951 in 1534), it owed a total of £1,000 to debtors.

Starting in 1534, Cromwell had each of the monasteries inspected, with the establishment's wealth and endowments recorded, along with frequent reports of impropriety, vice and excess.

Abbot Bourchier sought to gain Thomas Cromwell's favour to protect his canons and abbey; in 1536 sending him £100 and gifts of sheep and oxen.

[3][13] The last abbot, John Bourchier, was granted the substantial pension of £200 a year, when the abbey was dissolved:[3] the largest in the Diocese of Lincoln.

This benefice may have represented his true religious sympathies as the rectory was under the patronage of "zealous Catholic" Edward Griffin of Dingley Hall; although it also had financial incentive with a "wage" (income) of £60 a year: the highest in Leicestershire.

In June 1571 Bourchier sold the rights to his £200 a year pension to Sir Thomas Smyth for the sum of £900, and quietly fled abroad, probably to France or Flanders.

A wealthy, but very old man, wanted by the state as a "fugitive over the sea, contrary to statute", Bourchier lived quietly abroad for his remaining years.

[5][16] War with France and Scotland led Henry VIII to sell of some of the religious establishments and land to raise finances quickly.

The Marquess only held the abbey for two years: after supporting Lady Jane Grey's claim to the throne, in 1553, on the accession of Bloody Mary, he was arrested and his lands were confiscated.

[15][16] The 1st Earl intended the abbey to be his main residence and so started to massively extend the mansion, with a new range added to the south and a large wing to the north.

The house was looted and burned when the Royalists left and marched south towards Oxford, meeting parliamentary forces at the Battle of Naseby.

Lionel Tollemache, 8th Earl of Dysart, sold the land east of the River Soar (known as Abbey Meadows) in 1876; this was to allow Leicester Town Council to undertake flood prevention work.

The part of this land between the river and the Grand Union Canal was developed by the Town Council into a public space known as Abbey Park, which was opened by King Edward VII (then Prince of Wales) in 1882.

[13] The archaeological excavations undertaken have allowed historians to calculate the layout and plan of the abbey: which were then plotted out with low stone walls, during the 1920s and 1930s.

The west range contained the "lavatorium", a room used for washing; a vaulted undercroft, used for storage; and, on the first floor, the abbey's best residential accommodation, probably including that used by the Abbot.

The East range contained the abbey's chapterhouse; a small room which is presumed to be either a library or a sacristry; a second larger undercroft, again used for storage; a corridor, known as the Slype, leading to the graveyard; and on the first floor were the canon's dormitory and reredorter (communal latrine).

This led to a "halt-way" which was around 60 metres (200 ft) long, and was flanked either side by stone walls; it was enclosed at the south end by the abbey's formal Gatehouse.

The abbey precinct also contained an almonry, where poor boys received a free education in a type of boarding school; a water mill; a dovecote; and a fishpond.