Work began after the fire of 1087. Bishop Richard de Beaumis began full construction, helped by King Henry I, who supplied stone and waived tolls on river material. The Norman design shifted into Early English Gothic. The cathedral was consecrated in 1240 and enlarged in 1256 as the New Work, and additions were completed in 1314. The traditional height of the spire is 489 feet (149 m), and its length was 584 feet (178 m). It was the tallest building in the world from 1221 to 1311. Lightning destroyed the spire in 1561.
Inigo Jones restored it in the 1620s and added a classical west portico in the 1630s. During the Civil War the nave was used as a stable. The Great Fire of 1666 gutted it, and demolition began in 1668.
Wren's St Paul's replaced it, and the chapter house foundations can be seen in the south churchyard.
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