The abbey is noted as the source of the restoration of Benedictine monastic life in France under Father Prosper Guéranger after the French Revolution (begun 1833). It was originally founded in 1010 as a priory of the Benedictine Le Mans abbey. In 1866 a convent, St. Cecilia's Abbey, was also founded at Solesmes, by Mother Cécile Bruyère. The abbey is noted for its revival of Gregorian chant. The abbey church was begun in the 11th century, though much of it dates from the 15th. In the 19th century (1863) it was lengthened and considerably remodeled.