The English Reformation led to the first Anglican archbishop. Some of the cathedral's treasures were taken by the Crown, and the church lost some of its land. Under Elizabeth I there was an effort to remove all traces of the Roman Catholic Church from the cathedral; there was much destruction of tombs, windows, and altars. In the English Civil War the city was besieged and fell to the forces of Cromwell in 1644, but Thomas Fairfax prevented any further damage to the cathedral.