Glastonbury 

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Historical notes about the Town of Glastonbury

Glastonbury

Let us revel anew in the Legend of Glastonbury; how St Pilip bade Joseph of Arimathaea carry the tidings of the blessed Gospel to far-of Britain, and how Joseph and his eleven disciples arrived at last in the Severn Sea, and, since all the low-lying land - we would call it the Brue Level now - was swamped by the tide, they were washed to Glastonbury. St Joseph, they say, leant on his rod and the rod took root, and became a thorn-tree to blossom every year at Christmas. Then from the Holy Grail that he buried at the foot of Galstonbury Tor sprang the Blood Spring. The King was converted to the new faith, and granted land to the strangers, whereon they built a chapel. And that was the beginning of Glastonbury. The handful of earth made a great land, and the tiny stream became a mighty river. Glastonbury, from its mud and wattle beginning, became the greatest monastic house in England and a far-famed place of pilgrimage. So we have the legend of Joseph and his little band, and the rod that became the marvellous thorn.

From this charming idyll we must tear ourselves, and grasp the simple truth. It was at the beginning of the eighth century that King Ina built a church to the glory of god and dedicated it to St Peter and St Paul. Its first great abbot was Dunstan, a Glastonbury man, and here were buried Saxon kings and (why should we not believe the tradition) no less people that the great King Arthur and beautiful Guinevere. This was, of course, the earliest church; we are leaving with reverence, Joseph's wattle and daub shrine to the golden days of myth. Thurstan and Herlewinus, successive abbots, both planned new buildings, but King Stephen's brother, Abbot Henry of Blois, was the first actually to set about the new abbey. He started it somewhere about 1124, and it was burned sixty years later. So far as one can gather, Abbot Henry's building was a splendid church. At any rate, its loss was regarded as a serious one, for Henry II rebuilt it on the site of the now legendary chapel of St Joseph. Here he built the beautiful St Mary's Chapel, now known as St Josheph's. Then Henry died, and Coeur de Lion was too busy fighting in the Holy Land to attend the wants of monks at home, though he was known to be an intensely religious man. So the church had to wait until 1303, when, in the reign of Edward I, it was dedicated, still far from completed. It was not until well into the sixteenth century that the great abbey was finished. IN 1538 the last abbot, Whiting, refusing to surrender the abbey's property, was quickly tried for treason at Wells, and hanged. The abbey was then suppressed, and the property absorbed by the Crown.

So ended the glories of Glastonbury. It was rich, it was splendid, it was important. To none but St Albans did it give precedence. A reconstruction of the great church from the ruins shows a long cruciform building, with short, broad transepts. The Chapter House was, as is usual in old churches, by the south transept. The cloisters were on the same side. The interior was spacious to allow for the stately processions beloved of the Church dignitaries of those days. From the cross of the transepts the tower sprang, braced, like the tower of Wells Cathedral, by inverted arches. Of the cloisters, refectory, and other offices of the monastery, nothing remains but the abbots kitchen, dated about 1435, and a very striking and interesting building.

From Glastonbury Tor, a 500 foot climb, the views over the surrounding country on all sides are very fine, as the Tor rises from the flat plain, and the only hills that could mar the view are the low ridge of the Poldens. St Michael's Chapel, once perched on top of the hill, was destroyed in 1271. But a later tower remains, a well-known landmark for many miles around. The thorn, the original rod planted by Joseph of Arimathaea, was at Weary All Hill, and the present one, flourishing close to the abbey, is supposed to be an offshoot.

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Historic images from around the Town of Glastonbury

This small selection of historic images of Glastonbury are from our British National Image Library. You may click on the thumbnail pictures to view larger versions and read what information we have regarding the image.

The Glastonbury Chair

High Street

Plan of Glastonbury Choir and Presbytery

Glastonbury Altar and Reredos

Glastonbury Abbey Plan

There may be more historic images of Glastonbury here.

Public Events in and around Glastonbury

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Hotels, Apartments and B&B's in Glastonbury

The visitor accommodation options for Glastonbury listed below are supplied by LATE ROOMS and BOOKING.COM from a selection of over 16,000 hotels located throughout the UK.

(Clicking on the Hotel Name or Image will open a new window with full details of the chosen property)

 Magdalene House 

 

 Middlewick Holiday Cottages 

 

 No 51 

 

 The Glastonbury Townhouse 

 

 Belle Vue Guesthouse 

 

 George & Pilgrim 

 

 Haydn House 

 

 The Who'd A Thought It Inn