Chichester Cathedral by deep mouldings. The original spire, which also was of masonry rather than of sheathed wood, was built in the late 14th century, by John Mason (died ca 1403), who also built the Vicars' Hall. The style and construction of the spire are obviously based on that of Salisbury Cathedral but it is not as ambitiously tall, probably because of the problem of subsidence. The Lady chapel, constructed to the east of the retro-choir, is a long narrow space, with large windows in the Decorated Gothic style of the late 13th century. The other buildings related to the cathedral are
Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral building, as part of a wider phase of citywide construction and renovation. Only the earlier spire was retained for the new building. The older part of this church was described in 1862 as Doric in style, attached to a featureless modern tower with an "ill-formed" spire. The building was widely considered to be poorly designed. The "Dublin Builder" described it as "a shabby apology for a cathedral which has long disgraced Cork", while "The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland" judged it "a plain, massive, dull, tasteless, oblong pile, totally destitute of what is usually regarded as cathedral character, and possessing hardly