It is of cruciform plan, and though its unpretending exterior is of brick, the interior has four rows of massive stone pillars dividing the nave from the aisles, which as well as the choir at the eastern end have semicircular APSES.
"Architecture"
Nancy R E Meugens Bell
Very notable examples are the Abbaye aux Hommes, the Abbaye aux Dames, and the Church of S. Nicholas, all at Caen, the first with circular arched vaulting and western towers ending in spires, the second with a Gothic roof of intersecting pointed arches, the third with three APSES, each with a steeply pitched roof, a porch with three arcades at the western end, and a low gabled tower rising from the point of intersection of the nave and transepts, the three buildings illustrating well the transition from the simple basilica to the complex Gothic structure.
"Architecture"
Nancy R E Meugens Bell
As time went on the multiplication of APSES became characteristic of German churches, it being usual to add one at the western end, and more rarely also on the northern and southern sides, the beautiful tapering columns dividing them from the aisles, with the small chapels beyond them, producing very fine effects of perspective.
"Architecture"
Nancy R E Meugens Bell