cathedral's unity of style. He considered sculpture an "indispensable attribute of architectural effect" and, at Saint Fin Barre's, believed he was engaged upon "a work which has not been attempted since the West front of Wells Cathedral". In the designs for the pieces decorating the cathedral, Burges worked closely with Thomas Nicholls, who constructed each figure in plaster, and with McLeod and local stonemasons, who carved almost all of the sculptures in situ. Burges's designs for the western façade were based on medieval French iconography. He considered this front to be the most important exterior feature, as it would be lit by the setting sun and thus the most dramatic. The theme is The Last Judgement, with representations of the twelve Apostles bearing instruments of their martyrdom, the Wise and the Foolish Virgins, the Resurrection of the Dead and the Beasts of The Evangelists. The gilded copper "resurrection angel" facing eastward on the main spire is locally the cathedral's most iconic feature, and colloquially known as the "goldie angel". It was designed by Burges and erected in 1870 free of charge as his gift to the city, in recognition of Cork's willingness to fund his original design, and positioned in place of an intended wrought-iron cross. The imagery of the tympanum is taken from the Book of Revelation, with the divine on the upper register and mortals below. It shows an angel, accompanied by John the Evangelist, measuring the temple in Jerusalem, while beneath them the dead rise from their graves. Of these sculptures, the Victorian critic Charles Eastlake wrote in A History of the Gothic Revival, "no finer examples of decorative sculpture have been produced during the Revival". Burges found it difficult to realise some of his original images for the sculptures and stained glass panels; a number of them contained frontal nudes, including the designs for the creation of the planets, the figures of Adam and Eve, Christ in Glory, Our Lord as King Crucified, the dead rising from their graves, and the welcoming angels. In August 1868, some Protestant committee members, led by the chancellor, George Webster, rejected the use of images of the naked human body in ecclesiastical iconography, especially in images of Christ, and forced Burges to provide clothed designs, modesty-providing loincloths, or strategically placed foliage or books. In frustration Burges wrote, "I am sorry to see Puritanism so rampant in Cork ... I wish