Denny Abbey was established in 1159 as an offshoot, or dependent 'cell' of Ely Cathedral Priory. Over the following 400 years – and uniquely among religious houses in England – the Abbey was occupied successively by Benedictine monks, the lay order known as Knights Templars, and an order of Franciscan nuns, the Poor Clares. Each community left its distinctive mark, and adapted the buildings to its particular needs. When the Countess of Pembroke brought the Poor Clares to Denny in the seventeenth century, she converted part of the existing chuch into a house for herself, unwittingly securing the building's long-term survival. With the closure of the Abbey by order of Henry VIII in 1539, Denny became a farm. The former monastic buildings were adapted once again to provide a farmhouse and barns, which they remained until the 1960s. The Farmland Museum, adjacent to the Abbey remains, was set up in 1997. Its display represent aspects of Cambridgeshire farming and rural life, complementing the earlier monastic history and bringing the story of Denny up to date.