Visit Glastonbury Abbey – Somerset

Alleged Burial Place of King Arthur and Oldest Christian Sanctuary

Nov 2, 2008

Glastonbury Abbey has a good claim to be one of the oldest Christian sites in England, the first church probably built here in AD63.

Glastonbury Abbey is just off Magdalen street in the centre of Glastonbury about a hundred yards away from the Market. There is a remarkable legend associated with this evocative site. It may be drawn from the 13th century French writer Robert de Boron’s tale of the Holy Grail, brought by the brother of Joseph of Arimathea to the “vaus d’Avaron” in a distant Western land. Less traceable is the legend that the abbey was the last resting place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, whose remains were “discovered” by the monks in 1191 and put in a consecrated in 1186-7

History of Glastonbury Abbey

The site is ancient indeed. Originally a little wattle and wood church constructed by Christian missionaries, an old church was rededicated here in 166, according to William of Malmesbury’s account in 1130, On The Antiquity of the Church at Glastonbury. The King of Damnonia granted the old church some land in 601. The Saxons come over the next hundred years, but they have become Christianised so Glastonbury is one of the few Christian settlements to pass undamaged to the Saxons. The Saxon King Ine builds a larger church at Glastonbury early in the eighth century. In 945 Dunstan becomes Abbott of Glastonbury, and reforms monastic life along a more rigorous lines. Glastonbury eventually followed Benedictine lines.

More construction is done in the 12th century, but then tragedy strikes. Fire razes the building to the ground on the 12 May 1184. First to be rebuilt was the Old church, this time in stone, consecrated in 1186-7. This is what became the Lady Chapel, which is still the most intact of the ruins, unusually at the west. The Abbey that became the ruins the visitor sees now were constructed over the next four centuries right up until the Dissolution. The story of the last Abbott, Richard Whiting, is tragic. Though right was on his side in refusing to surrender his Abbey to the king, he paid the ultimate price. Thomas Cromwell, acting for Henry VIII fabricated a charge of treason and embezzlement, and Richard Whiting was hanged on Glastonbury Tor, November 15, 1539.

Glastonbury Abbey Ruins Today

The most complete building is the Abbott’s kitchen in the Abbey grounds. The Abbey itself was clearly much robbed of stone in the centuries following the Dissolution, though the Lady Chapel is best preserved (also known as St Joseph’s chapel from the Joseph of Arimethea legend). The other abbey buildings are almost totally lost, visible now just as stone tracery in the grass. The whole site is 36 acres, and near the entrance there is one of the Glastonbury Thorns, by legend deriving from the staff of Joseph of Arimethea.

Visiting Glastonbury Abbey

There is a municipal car park next to the Abbey. At the entrance is the ticket office, Gift Shop and Museum. Toilet facilities are available at both the car park and the Abbey.

GPS Location of Glastonbury Abbey

Google Maps

It is worth looking at Glastonbury Abbey on Google maps as it shows a remarkable plan view of the 36 acre site putting things into a perspective that is difficult to appreciate on the ground.

References

The copyright of the article Visit Glastonbury Abbey – Somerset in England Travel is owned by Richard Mudhar. Permission to republish Visit Glastonbury Abbey – Somerset in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.