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
St Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn as required, with a mass brickwork backing making up the rest of the wall. This dry press brickwork was to be laid integrally with the stonework in garden bond. The spire is yet to be completed. The spire remains an unfinished work. The Cathedral building is made of sandstone from a quarry at Marulan, except for the pillars which are of Pyrmont sandstone. The roof is natural slate. The Cathedral is unmistakably a Blacket church, on a grand scale, with nave, aisles, transepts, chancel, porches and tower. It has large and elaborate stone traceried windows and an impressive interior with