Salisbury Cathedral almost two centuries. The cathedral is also the subject of William Golding's novel "The Spire" which deals with the fictional Dean Jocelin who makes the building of the spire his life's work. The construction of the cathedral is an important plot point in Edward Rutherfurd's historical novel "Sarum", which explores the historical settlement of the Salisbury area. The cathedral has been mentioned by the author Ken Follett as one of two models for the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral in his historical novel "The Pillars of the Earth". It was also used for some external shots in the 2010 miniseries based on
Spire no bounds. With advances in technology, steel production, and building techniques the spire enjoyed an unprecedented surge through architecture, Cologne Cathedral's famous spires, designed centuries earlier, were finally completed in this era. Spires have never really fallen out of fashion. In the twentieth century reinforced concrete offered new possibilities for openwork spires. Spire A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, often a skyscraper or a church tower, similar to a steep tented roof. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word "spir", meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass.