The Spire The Spire The Spire is a 1964 novel by the English author William Golding. "A dark and powerful portrait of one man's will", it deals with the construction of the 404-foot high spire loosely based on Salisbury Cathedral; the vision of the fictional Dean Jocelin. In this novel, William Golding utilises stream of consciousness writing with an omniscient but increasingly fallible narrator. Jocelin, the Dean of the cathedral, directs the construction of a towering spire funded by his aunt, Lady Alison, a mistress of the former King. The project is carried on against the advice of many, and in particular
Chichester Cathedral the cathedral. The spire of Chichester Cathedral, rising above its green copper roof, can be seen for many miles across the flat meadows of West Sussex and is a landmark for sailors, Chichester being the only medieval English cathedral which is visible from the sea. Chichester Cathedral was built to replace the cathedral founded in 681 by St Wilfrid for the South Saxons at Selsey. The seat of the bishop was transferred in 1075. It was consecrated in 1108 under bishop Ralph de Luffa. An early addition was the Chapel of Saint Pantaleon off the south transept (now the Canons'