In architecture, the apse (Greek αψις (apsis), then Latin absis: "arch, vault"; sometimes written apsis; plural apses) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome. In Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical.
Some of the earliest examples of the Perpendicular Period, dating from 1360, are found at Gloucester Cathedral, where the masons of the cathedral would seem to have been far in advance of those in other towns; the fan-vaulting in the cloisters is particularly fine.
