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,
The Last Spire there is no song on "The Last Spire" matching the album title, a previously-unreleased instrumental track titled "The Last Spire" appears on Cathedral's 2011 live album, "Anniversary". Dorrian described his decision to include the track on "Anniversary" as The album has received "generally favorable reviews" according to Metacritic. Most reviews focus on the return to a doom-oriented sound and a reduction in the "quirky touches" in evidence on Cathedral albums including "The Ethereal Mirror" and, most recently, "The Guessing Game". Chris Dick, writing for "Decibel Magazine", stated that "Cathedral have reined in the purple puffy dragons and their Canterbury scene