138 OV GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. June I, 



of wood, on account of its lightnefs. To render th^ 

 preffure upon the abutment the lefs, thefe fpires were 

 made very high and pointed, and their bafe was receiv- 

 ed into the fquare tower confiderably below the battle- 

 ments. Of this kind was the ancient fpire of old St. 

 Pauls London, and that of Lincoln cathedral, at this 

 day, and nianj others. Sometimes fpires of ftone 

 formed the top of pretty high towers, as on the two 

 well towers of the Church of old Aberdeen. Some- 

 times this was done even over the central towers ; but 

 as the great weight of this load muft have been too 

 much for the counterpoife wanted, if thefe central tow- 

 ers had been carried u^ fquare to a confiderable height, 

 they found it neceflary, where a flone fpire was intend- 

 ed, to make the arch extremely pointed indeed, and to 

 caufe it be begun as low down as poffible ; fo that the 

 weight, which, in the other cafe, was put into the per- 

 pendicular walls, was here thrown chiefly into the cone. 

 Sometimes, however, they proceeded to exhibit a yet 

 higher exertion of their mechanical powers, by crown- 

 ing thefe central towers with open arched ribs of ftone, 

 fupporting pinnacles of confiderable altitude. As this 

 is perhaps the climax of mechanical invention that has 

 been attained by thefe artifts, I fhall think myfelf par- 

 donable for endeavouring to develope, with all poffible 

 brevity, the principles on which towers of this kind 

 have been conftrufted. 



I have feen three towers crowned in this manner : 

 Thofe of St. Nicolas church in Newcaftle ; the college 

 church at old Aberdeen ; and the central tower of St. 

 Giles's church Edinburgh. As this laft is more under 

 my eye than the others, and as it is generally efteemed 

 a moft beautiful tower, my defcription fliall chiefly ap- 

 ply .to it. 



The problem here propofed to the architeft, feems 

 to have been fomewhat of this nature : *' To rear up 

 *' a certain number of open ribs of ftone work, on tlie 

 '* principles of an arch, above the top of a wall of the 



