Complex sentence: Bee keeping was a very common activity in the old days before sugar became plentiful and affordable as sweetner, additionally their was at one time a high demand for candle wax, especially from the pre-reformation churches, cathedrals and abbeys.
Split into simpler sentences: Bee keeping was a very common activity in the old days before sugar became plentiful and affordable as a sweetener. There was also a high demand for candle wax, especially from the pre-reformation churches, cathedrals and abbeys.