The church occupied the South-West portion of this site, extending about 400 feet from the excavated west end to a point a little beyond the narrow lane called Hill Top.  The excavation shows that the church stood on a sloping site, the floor level being some ten feet lower than that of Trinity Church.  It was cruciform, with two western towers and a central one, and is believed to have had three spires similar to those of Lichfield but probably earlier in point of date.  On the substructure of the North-West Tower now stands the house of the mistress of the Girls’ Blue Coat School.  The interior of the West end to a height of 5 to 8 feet, with the responds of the nave arcades and of the tower arches, is visible and in good condition.  The beginning of the turret stair in the South-West tower is exposed, but the basement of the house unfortunately occupies the lower part of the northern one.  The exterior of this is however easily accessible from an enclosure known as the Wood Yard, the much decayed spreading plinth and a few feet of walling above it not having been destroyed.  Above this, grievous damage has been perpetrated by the casing and complete obliteration of the mouldings and arcading which remained.  The towers were placed outside the line of the aisles as at Wells, the total width of the West front, 145 feet, being nearly the same in both cases.  There are still indications of the position of the great west door, but the height of the inner plinth shows that there was always a descent of several steps into the church.  At the south transept where was “the Minster durra that openeth to the Trinite Churchyarde,” the descent must have been considerable.  The remains show that the nave dated from the first half of the thirteenth century, while fragments of wall near the site of the transept with indications of lancet window openings are probably a little earlier than the west end.

[Illustration:  Remains of the N.W.  Tower (in the eighteenth century).]

Whether the church of Leofric and Godiva, dedicated in 1043, had survived wholly or in part until this time cannot be known, but, judging from the history of most other great monastic churches and from the known wealth of the monastery, it may almost be taken for granted that the Norman bishops and priors rebuilt much if not all.  Some relics of Norman work have been found but the covering of the site with roads, graves and houses precludes the systematic exploration and survey which alone could solve this question and make clear the outlines of the plan of the whole establishment.