Glastonbury Abbey

England's unofficial national anthem, William Blake's Jerusalem, refers to the tradition of the visit of Jesus to Britain during his younger years.

This tradition and that of Joseph of Arimathaea, who is said to have come to Glastonbury as a political exile with twelve followers not long after the crucifixion to found the world's first purpose-built church, has for long led Glastonbury to be called England's holyest earthe.

It wasn't really a church, as we now know them. It was a round wattle shrine built to the proportions of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem - by homesick exile Jews - on a piece of land on Avalon's isle given to them by the Druids and the local king. The Druids probably lived up the hill in Wick Hollow and closer to the Tor.

This settlement dwindled into a succession of hermits, to be revived in the 400s by St Patrick of Ireland, and later built up in the 900s by St Dunstan until, by the 1100s-1300s it was one of the greater abbeys and pilgrimage places of Europe. Up to the 800s it was Celtic Christian centre, and this tradition has quietly lived on until today. It has been the home and burial place to many well known saints - the holy men of medieval times.

Its most famous and disputed grave, discovered in the 1300s, was that of King Arthur and Guinevere. Only the site of the grave remains, while evidence to satisfy modern historians is lacking.

The Abbey was destroyed in the 1530s by Henry VIII's men, and by locals who resented its by then overwhelming local influence, during a time of cultural cleansing when England turned Protestant. It has been a ruin ever since.

Today the Abbey is still a place of pilgrimage for people of many persuasions, and there are sizeable Anglican and Catholic pilgrimages each year in July.

It has a special atmosphere of sanctity and stillness, enhanced by the trees and open space of the Abbey Park. People go there to sit quietly, or to contemplate or pray. The crypt under the oldest part of the Abbey is a very special place with a blessed atmosphere.

To find out more, see...
Glastonbury Pilgrims' Trail
Glastonbury's History - about the Abbey's history and traditions
or visit the Glastonbury Abbey website