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,
St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata modelling the tower and spire upon Norwich Cathedral. On 8October 1839, construction was initiated by laying the cornerstone. The cathedral was completed after eight years and consecrated on 8October 1847. The consecration ceremony, to mark which Queen Victoria had sent "ten pieces of silver-gilt plate" for the cathedral, was largely attended by Europeans and local people. The cathedral was built in Gothic revival style, but with modern construction elements, including an iron framework. It was built with a chancel, a sanctuary, chapels and a tall spire; the cost of construction of the edifice was then Rs.4,35,669. The cathedral can accommodate