The memory of Saint Ella is celebrated on February 1st. Ella, whose maiden name is Fitzpatrick, is the wife of William Longespée, himself the brother of the Prince of England Richard the Lionheart. William, Ella's husband, was not a model of virtue: he was unfaithful and adulterous.

In spite of her husband's weaknesses, Ella was not discouraged, she still hoped that William would eventually change and be able to conform to the precepts of the Gospel. With patience, this happened when William returned from the Third Crusade to liberate the Holy Land. His ship was caught in a terrible storm, and it was then that he saw his wife help him and rescue him. He converted, implored his wife's forgiveness, and lived virtuously.

When William died, Ella founded an abbey, with the help of St. Edmund, in Laycock to accommodate women who followed the rules of life of St. Augustine and she was the first abbess. Ella died in 1261 in Laycock.