Begun in 1211, the building went on without pause for twenty years, after which, there was a slackening, followed by a vigorous resumption in 1299. Another pause occurred during the Hundred Years' War. The Cathedral, less the tower spires provided for in the plans, was finished in 1428. The spires were not yet built when the great fire of July 24th, 1481, entirely destroyed the roof of the Cathedral, further deferring their construction, which was subsequently abandoned. The funds for this colossal work were furnished partly by the clergy and the people, partly by Papal Indulgences granted to donors, and by collections in Christian lands, especially in the ecclesiastical province of Rheims. The wonderful plans of the Cathedral were long believed to be the work of _Robert de Coucy_, whereas the original ones were in fact drawn by _Jean d'Orbais_, who began their execution between 1211 and 1231. His work was continued with wonderful fidelity by _Jean-le-Loup_, from 1231-1247; by _Gaucher of Rheims_ in 1247-1255, _Bernard of Soissons_ from 1255 to 1290, _Robert de Coucy_ until 1311, and afterwards by _Maître Colard_, _Gilles le Maçon_, _Jean de Dijon_ and _Colard de Givry_ in the course of the 14th and 15th centuries. [Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL AFTER THE FIRE OF SEPT. 19, 1914] In the 17th and 18th centuries only repairs rendered necessary by the wear of the stone were effected. In the 19th century, beginning in 1845, important restorations, principally by Viollet-le-Duc, were carried out with regularity. The Cathedral's approximate measurements are 480 feet long (it is the longest church in France), and 160 feet wide at the intersection of the transept. The vaulting, less lofty than that at Beauvais (156 feet) and Amiens (143 feet), is 123 feet in height. The towers are six in number (as in the cathedral at Laon), of which the four situated at the extremities of the transept have never had more than one storey. The principal towers are about 266 feet in height, or about 60 feet higher than those of Nôtre-Dame in Paris. The plan of the Cathedral is in shape a Latin cross, with radiating chapels. It is built entirely of stone from the neighbourhood of Rheims. Forty pillars support the vaults, which are further sustained by fifty buttresses. Three great doorways and eight secondary doors give access to the interior, which is lighted by a hundred windows and rose-windows; 2,303 figures of all sizes decorate the exterior and interior. [Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL PHOTOGRAPHED FROM AEROPLANE IN 1916] =The Cathedral During the War=