Glastonbury Pilgrims' Trail | Bride's Mound

<BODY> <H1><A HREF="gpt-05-bride.html">Bride's Mound</A></H1> <P> Bride's Mound is a tiny little mound to the west of Glastonbury, at Beckery, just near the foot of Wearyall Hill. Tiny it may be, but its history is great, for legend has it that it is the gateway to Avalon where pilgrims, arriving by boat from Ireland and Wales, would stay in vigil through the night, before passing on up the processional way to Avalon. Arthur is said to have had a vision of the great goddess here, and Mary with her son, and St. Brigid of Ireland are said to have stayed here. Hence the link with Bride (Brighde, Brigid).</P> <H5>Proposed Reconstruction of the Sanctuary on Bride's Mound</H5> <P>A few women in Glastonbury have for a long time been concerned about the derelict state of Bride's Mound and felt that a sanctuary should be recreated there. Just recently, spurred on by the threat of major development in the nearby abandoned sheepskin factory, they formed a group called <A HREF="http://www.friendsofbridesmound.com" TARGET="new">Friends of Brides Mound</A> and approached various organisations with their ideas.</P> <P> It is proposed that this site, which has been held sacred over many centuries, should once again have a sanctuary created. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was a wattle and daub timber shrine prior to the medieval stone chapel and our proposal is to recreate a shrine within a garden of herbs and an orchard using permaculture principles. Both herb garden and orchard are traditional to a monastic garden. If possible, there could also be beehives, in keeping with the name Beckery (the old name of the mound) meaning 'beekeepers' island'.</P> <P> The resulting produce should be sufficient to pay for the upkeep of the site. Traditional willow fencing will separate the orchard from the herb garden and sanctuary, and from the nearby sewerage works. It is also suggested that the neighbouring orchard on the site of the sewerage works be reclaimed to the mound, given special status, and that an archaeological dig should occur there, since this is an integral part of the mound. Ideally, it would be good to move the sewerage works to a more appropriate site! Further, that another neighbouring field stretching towards the river Brue be surveyed for possible archaeological interest, and that the site of the spring be found. During 2005 the Friends are raising funds and negotiating to buy this land.</P> <H5>Mythology and Legends</H5> <P>William of Malmesbury, writing <I>circa</I> 1135, and John of Glastonbury, writing <I>circa</I> 1400, both describe traditions that St. Bridget visited Glastonbury in 488 AD and that she spent time at Bride's Mound, where there was an oratory dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Relics of hers were left at Bride's Mound where they were displayed in the chapel. Both writers implied that these relics were still at Bride's Mound at the time of their writing.</P> <P>William of Malmesbury and John of Glastonbury both state that a charter of 670 records the granting of lands at Beckery, where Bride's Mound is located. The area of Beckery is also known locally as Little Ireland, though the true derivation of the name means Beo Cere, 'beekeepers island'. </P> <P> A papal charter of 1168 refers to Beckery as the first of the islands in the Abbey's estate. John of Glastonbury also mentions a chapel dedicated to St. Bridget which had a special opening in the southern wall which healed those who passed through it. The fields around are still called 'the Brides'.</P> <P> John of Glastonbury states that on Wearyall Hill there was 'a monastery of holy virgins' which is the first reference to a women's community in the area. He then relates a story concerning the visit of King Arthur to Beckery, at which he had a vision of Mary, who was called Mistress of the Earth and Queen of Heaven, and her son Jesus. At this time one hermit lived on the mound and officiated as priest. As a result of this vision King Arthur became a Christian and changed his coat of arms from a red dragon to one showing Mary and Child.</P> <P> Legend also relates that this area used to be called the 'women's quarter' because a community of women lived on Bride's Mound after the visit by St Brigid, and a perpetual fire was kept there. In 2004 the flame from the perpetual fire at Kildare in Ireland was brought back to Glastonbury, where it is kept alive today, awaiting the restoration of Bride's Mound.</P> <P> An Arthurian legend recounts how pilgrims who passed over Pomparles Bridge (the Perilous Way  now the road between Glastonbury and Street), which used to be an oak causeway, had to spend all night in vigil at the chapel before they could pass on up the processional way to the holy Isle of Avalon. Thus Bride's Mound was held to be the gateway to Avalon, and the processional way went from there via the Iron Age 'Castle' mount (now destroyed by development) and St Benignus' (Benedict's) church.</P> <P>There is also said to have been a spring called St Bride's Well which in the 1920s was marked by a stone and a thorn tree on which women would tie rags, as is still the custom in Cornwall by a holy well. People threw objects into the well for good luck. This stone has now been moved to a place close by the river.</P> <P>There has been one major excavation of the mound, by Philip Rahtz in the 1960s, funded by the Chalice Well Trust. This is what they found: </P> <H5>Archaeological Evidence</H5> <P>There is very little evidence from the Neolithic and Iron Age periods apart from some flints and some pottery, similar to that found in the nearby Lake Villages. This suggests that the site was used by the nearby Lake Village people. One theory is that there were jetties along the north side of the island where they would have landed their boats.</P> <P>There are some Roman coins, bronze items and tiles suggesting that the mound was in continuous use throughout Roman times.</P> <P CLASS="sansmed">The archaeological finds of pre Saxon graves at Bride's Mound.<BR> The short straight lines with a circle in them are graves -<BR> only one was within the sanctuary.<BR> (Used with kind permission of the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society.)</P> <P> During the Romano-British, Arthurian and early Saxon eras there is evidence of post holes from substantial timber, wattle-and-daub structures. The dating is uncertain  possibly around 650-900. There are also many burials, primarily of men, some lying prone, and one woman and two children. Both timber structures and burials suggest an East-West orientation. Perhaps one of the structures was a tomb shrine, as it appears to be around a grave dated around 730, the only one that was stone lined.</P> <P>The later Saxon chapel was built around this, suggesting the timber structure was still in use when the stone chapel was built. This suggests that the mound was in constant use and was considered to be a holy place. Although there is no archaeological evidence for the period from the end of Roman times (c400 AD) to around 650 the fact that it was used both before and after suggests that the mound has probably been in continuous use since the Neolithic.</P> <P>There is also evidence of domestic occupation during this period, with remains of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry, suggesting a small community lived on the mound.</P> <P>During the later Saxon era, around 930, a stone chapel and an adjacent house, called the Priests' House, was built. It was used until the 13th century, when a new Norman chapel was built. There is no evidence of a community during this period  merely one caretaker-hermit-priest tending to the chapel. This appears to have been abandoned after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s.</P> <P>At present the site is under threat of development as the nearby Morlands factory has become derelict, and the whole site is up for sale. We are campaigning strongly for our proposal to be considered, whatever happens to the Morlands factory, and to buy the land.</P> </BODY>  <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript1.2"> </script><script type="text/javascript"> </script><noscript><img height="1" width="1" alt="" src="http://nht-2.extreme-dm.com/n2.g?login=avalon23&pid=gptbride&j=n&jv=n&auto=y"/> </noscript>