The =Central Tower= at the crossing of the transepts, built in 1410-1433, Perpendicular, is also two hundred feet high. It is the largest in England, and is considered not only one of the triumphs of Fifteenth Century architects, but one of the finest towers in the world. Much of it is supposed to be the work of Walter Skirlawe, Bishop of Durham, and its resemblance to the central tower of Durham Cathedral justifies the assumption. It has never been finished. “The central tower rises a single story above the ridge of the roof and is open inside to the top. But for small gables on the buttresses, it is quite plain up to the level of the roof ridge. Above this it contains two long and narrow Perpendicular windows on each side, of three lights each, with a transom. These windows are ornamented ogee gables, and between them are three niches, one above the other, with canopies. The external buttresses are split up with vertical mouldings and ornamented with niches and panelling. The tower is crowned with a battlement. Horizontal string-courses with gargoyles divide the buttresses at intervals. There are no pinnacles on these buttresses, and they appear never to have been finished. It is possible that it was intended to set another story on the top of the present one, but this is merely conjecture. “The English architects of the Fifteenth Century, if they were inferior to earlier builders in invention and vigour, were at any rate supreme in the management of towers. Their wonderful sense of proportion, their habitual use of vertical lines, and the character of their windows helped them to build what are perhaps the finest towers in Europe, and the central tower of York Minster [Illustration: YORK MINSTER: WEST FRONT] [Illustration: YORK MINSTER: SOUTH] is one of the finest of all. Even the absence of pinnacles, if it is an accident, seems to be a lucky accident, and gives this tower an unrivalled dignity and an air of restraint suitable to the character of the whole cathedral.”--(A. C.-B.) We enter the Cathedral by the south door of the =South Transept= and are introduced to what is considered one of the most superb architectural views in the world. The enormous width of the church and length of the transepts and the tremendous lantern produce almost the effect of St. Paul’s or St. Peter’s. Neither the east nor the west end is visible, for we are looking right across the arms of the crossing straight to the north end of the transept, where the =Five Sisters= display their jewels. The =Lantern= is very lofty--180 feet from the floor--each transept is four bays long--223 feet from north to south--and 93 feet wide. To the top of the roof they measure 99 feet.