Spire spires were an astounding architectural innovation, beginning with the early fourteenth-century spire at Freiburg Minster, in which the pierced stonework was held together by iron cramps. The openwork spire, according to Robert Bork, represents a "radical but logical extension of the Gothic tendency towards skeletal structure." The organic skeleton of Antoni Gaudi's phenomenal spires at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona represent an outgrowth of this Gothic tendency. Designed and begun by Gaudi in 1884, they were not completed until the 20th century. In England, "spire" immediately brings to mind Salisbury Cathedral. Its 403-foot (123-m) spire, built between 1320 and 1380,
Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow The Cathedral of the Assumption is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin located in Carlow town. The cathedral was dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1833. It is known for its beautifully detailed spire which is one of the highest points in the town. Architect Thomas Cobden, designer of much of the adjacent college, designed the cathedral. it was the second Catholic cathedral built in Ireland after Catholic Emancipation, after the Catholic Cathedral in Waterford. The tower and lantern was inspired by the Belfry of