LOUTH CHURCH SPIRE.
The three spires of Coventry are those of S. Michael’s, Holy Trinity, and Christ Church. Of these, S. Michael’s is the chief, being 303 feet high. Amongst parish churches, it is therefore the tallest. The base consists of a lantern flanked by four pinnacles, to which it is connected by flying buttresses. Its erection was commenced in the year 1373, and completed in 1394. At [p 105] the restoration of the church, which took place in 1885, the tower was found to have been erected on the edge of an old quarry, and it cost no less a sum than £17,000 to add a new foundation. During the most critical period of the work the structure visibly moved, and the apex of the spire now leans 3ft. 5in. out of the perpendicular towards the north-west.
Holy Trinity spire is 237 feet high, and much less ornate than S. Michael’s. During a violent tempest of “wind, thunder, and earthquake,” which occurred
on the 24th of January, 1665, it was overthrown, and much injury was done to the church in consequence. The re-building was finished in 1668. It has been completely restored in recent years.
The spire of Christ Church is some little distance away from the other two. It is octagonal in shape, and rises from an embattled tower to a height of 230 feet. It was restored in 1888.
Lichfield Cathedral contains three spires within its precincts. The grouping is, therefore, more uniform than that of Coventry, although the general effect is not thereby accentuated. The central spire rises to a height of 258 feet, [p 106] and the two which grace the west front are each 183 feet high. In the time of the great civil war, when Lichfield was besieged, the central spire was demolished. After the Restoration, it was re-built by good old Dr. Hackett.
The spire of Chichester Cathedral, built in the fourteenth century over a rotten sub-structure, was destroyed by its own weight in 1861. It was 271 feet high, and has now been re-built in its original style on a slightly higher tower. The story of its fall has often been told. On the night of Wednesday, the 20th of February, 1861, a heavy gale occurred. The next day, about twenty minutes past one o’clock, the spire was observed to suddenly lean towards the south-west, and then to right itself again. Soon after, it disappeared into the body of the cathedral, sliding down like the folding of a telescope. Only the coping-stone and the weather-vane fell outside, the rest of the masonry formed a huge cairn in the centre of the edifice, which was practically cut into four portions by the wreck. The present spire was completed in 1867.
In Lincolnshire there are two remarkable spires at Louth and Grantham. The one at Louth rises to a height of 294 feet. At the [p 107] corners of the tower are four tall turret pinnacles to which the spire is connected by flying buttresses. In 1843 it was struck by lightning; steps were at once taken for its restoration, which was completed three years later.