Holy Island, cut off from the mainland for several hours each day, played a significant part in the development of Christianity in England. In 635 AD, the Irish evangelist, St Aidan, founded a monastic community that became one of the most important centres of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England. Viking raids finally forced the monks to abandon the island in 875, but in 1082, St Cuthbert rebuilt the Priory, the remains of which can still be visited.