Which English cathedral once had the world's tallest spire (160 m) before collapsing?

Lincoln Cathedral once had the world’s tallest spire, rising to an estimated 160 metres before its collapse in the late 1540s.

The great central spire was added to Lincoln’s crossing tower around 1311. Its lead-covered wooden construction made the cathedral taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza and, by the usual historical reckoning, the tallest building in the world. The structure stood at roughly 525 feet, although medieval measurements were not precise.

The spire was blown down in a severe storm, commonly dated 1548 or 1549, and was never rebuilt. Lincoln Cathedral’s central tower now reaches about 83 metres, leaving the building dramatically shorter than its medieval maximum.

A common mix-up is Salisbury Cathedral, whose 123-metre spire is the tallest in Britain still standing. Old St Paul’s Cathedral also held the height record earlier, but Lincoln’s 160-metre peak came later and was higher.