Page:Charles Moore--Development and Character of Gothic Architecture.djvu/190

Rh the thirteenth century, retains its original form up to the level of the cornice. It consists (Fig. 92) of three stories above the cornice of the nave; an octagonal stair turret rises against each of its four angles, whose sheer ascent gives an extremely majestic expression to the structure. The stories are finely proportioned in their heights, and the middle one, which is the first that rises clear of the nave roof, is admirably designed as a base for the bell story. In this middle story are no openings except a few very small and narrow ones like loopholes; but the walls are enriched by a blind arcade of five shafted arches. In the upper story, on each side, are two great lancets surmounted by gables, and subdivided by mullions into two lesser lancets, all having traceried heads. This tower is hardly equalled in beauty by any other in England; and it is certainly one of the grandest and most beautiful towers in Europe.

Spires were hardly constructed at all in England during the twelfth century, and on a large scale they appear to have been rarely erected during the entire early pointed period. Large existing spires, like that of Salisbury, are, for the most part, not of earlier date than the fourteenth century. On a