But however this may have been, the church is thoroughly French in its ground-plan and equally French in all its details for some height from the ground; and it is not until we reach the triforium of the Choir that any other influence is visible; but even here the work is French work, only slightly modified by some acquaintance with Moorish art....” The stupendous fabric, once begun, whether by French or Spanish hands, took two hundred and sixty-six years to finish. From the death of the first architect in 1270 to the year 1425 the names of the architects have been lost. During this period, the successive styles of architecture naturally influenced the original scheme and found expression in the building. It was in January 1493 that the roof was finished and the main structure completed. Certain chapels, such as the Reyes Nuevos, Sagrario, &c., were later additions. Among the later architects we find Rodrigo Alfonso, Alvar Gomez, Martin Sanchez, and Juan Guas. The stone employed inside (according to O’Shea) was quarried at Oliguelas, some nine miles from the city. It becomes harder with age. “The external portion is all of Berroqueña stone, save the ornamentation of the portals, which is also of Oliguelas white stone.” The Cathedral forms an oblong, semicircular at the eastern end, and lying east and west. In width it is exceeded only by the Cathedrals of Milan and Seville, measuring 178 feet broad by 395 feet long. On the north side are the cloisters and additional chapels and sacristies. From the eastern side project the chapels of the Reyes Nuevos, San Ildefonso, and Santiago, and the Winter Chapter-room. The plan of the interior is easy of comprehension. The nave extends from the western entrance to the Capilla Mayor: on either side of it are two aisles which are continued round and behind this chapel in a semicircular sweep. Street extols the skill with which this arrangement has been carried out. Between the Choir and the Capilla Mayor a transept extends across the church, not projecting, however, beyond the outer walls of the farther aisles. The eighty-eight pillars which support the fabric and mark off these divisions are composed each of from eight to sixteen light columns, standing on the same base. The capitals are moulded in plain foliage. The arches resting on these pillars make up the seventy-two vaults of which the roof is composed. The aisles rise gradually in towards the central nave, which is 116 feet high. The crypt or substructure corresponds in its divisions and the number of its piers to the edifice above. The pavement is of bluish white marble arranged in chequers.