Churches in Portugal have long since followed the Pre-Romanesque kind of simple square-shaped apses typical of Visigothic and Mozarabic periods where east ends reflected the common structural plan of single-aisled churches as the main altar is separated from the nave by a transept or is just the extension of it.
Cloisters provided special accommodation for the activities that took place within it: stone benches were used for reading, books were sometimes stored in cupboards or armoires built into the walls.