The north side was graced with a tomb to Queen Catherine of Arragon. Uneasy was her rest, for Cromwell's troops laid sacrilegious hands on the tomb. Her royal memory is now perpetuated by a commonplace marble slab.
Not content with this the Roundheads, as the parliamentary forces were called, defaced the Cathedral, looted its plate and ornaments, and pulled down part of the cloisters, the chapter house, and the episcopal palace. What remains of the cloisters exhibit specimens of Early Norman, down to the later periods of English architecture, and give some idea of their former grandeur.
Besides its beauties, this cathedral affords an excellent study of arches, illustrating the subtleties of every transitional period in architecture, from Norman to perpendicular.
The choir, by John de Sez, is Early Norman. Martin of Bec took fifteen years, in the twelfth century, to realise the completion of the aisles of both transepts. The remaining portions of the transepts and the central tower were designed by William de Waterville, from 1155 to 1175.
Unfortunately, the insecurity of this tower caused it to be pulled down in 1883, and attempts were immediately made to substitute another.
The nave belongs to the latter part of the Norman period. To be correct, its date, 1177 to 1193, clearly indicates it should be included rather in the Transition period, which was then trending towards the Lancet of Early English.