Gothic architecture the tallest cathedral tower in France is Rouen Cathedral, and Cologne Cathedral (151.0 meters or 495 feet) is the tallest cathedral in Europe. The Gothic Old St Paul's Cathedral (1087–1314) had been the tallest cathedral in England until it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Today the tallest combined Gothic tower and spire in the UK belongs to Salisbury Cathedral, (123 meters or 404 feet), built 1220–1258. In Italy, the tower, if present, is almost always detached from the building, as at Florence Cathedral, and is often from an earlier structure. In France and Spain, two
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo needed replaced. He engaged George Goldie, one of the foremost Catholic architects in England in the nineteenth century, and the Cathedral was opened for divine worship on 26 July 1874 by Cardinal Paul Cullen of Dublin. The cathedral was built in a Norman style, and it is the only Norman styled cathedral in Ireland. It can seat 1400 people. It has an impressive spire at the front and large apse in the Sanctuary. Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo "This article refers to the Roman Catholic cathedral. For the Church of Ireland cathedral, see St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo."