 Norreis went to Rome in the company of Thomas of Marlborough shortly before 1205 to lay the abbey 's case before the papacy . Thomas remained in Italy , but Norreis returned to England in the middle of 1205 . While in Rome , Norreis and Thomas borrowed 400 marks to finance the litigation at the papal curia . Norreis could not repay this sum and for a while was in danger of being imprisoned , but he managed to leave Rome without suffering the fate of one of his companions who was detained for the debt and died while imprisoned . When Norreis made it back to England , Mauger excommunicated the abbot in April 1205 . The monks won a victory on the question of the abbey 's exemption from episcopal visitation in 1206 , but other elements of the quarrel remained unresolved , including that of the disputed churches . Later that year the monks became so annoyed by Norreis 's abuse that they abandoned the abbey and did not return until they secured the abbot 's confirmation of their rights . 
