Lincoln Cathedral is a cathedral located in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. Building commenced in 1088 and continued in several phases throughout the medieval period. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 238 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt. The cathedral is the third largest in Britain after St Paul's and York Minster, being 484by. It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent Victorian writer John Ruskin declared: "I have always held... that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have."HistoryRemigius de Fécamp, the first Bishop of Lincoln, moved the episcopal seat (cathedra) there "some time between 1072 and 1092" About this, James Essex writes that "Remigius... laid the foundations of his Cathedral in 1088" and "it is probable that he, being a Norman, employed Norman masons to superintend the building... though he could not complete the whole before his death." Before that, writes B. Winkles, "It is well known that Remigius appropriated the parish church of St Mary Magdalene in Lincoln, although it is not known what use he made of it."