The south transept served a vital function in the monks’ daily routine, providing direct access between their dormitory and the church for night services. A stone staircase descended from the monks’ sleeping quarters into the transept, allowing them to attend prayers at 2am without passing through the cloister. The transept featured side chapels decorated with elaborate polychrome tiles displaying symbols of Edward the Confessor and the Virgin Mary. After the Dissolution, Sir William Paulet converted this sacred space into luxurious private apartments for his Tudor mansion. In the late 15th century, the south transept underwent significant renovation with new vaulting work—one of the few major structural changes to the abbey in its final decades of monastic life.