key architectural references in the development of the somerset towers were gloucester cathedral, wells cathedral (begun around 1180 and consecrated 1239), and glastonbury abbey (begun 1184) and their renovations into the 14th century. beyond these, however, the mason-architects of the era innovated and borrowed new designs from one another, adding additional storeys and elaborating decoration wherever there was money to support it. the reformation in the 16th century largely brought to an end the era of somerset tower construction.