A Walk Around Glastonbury Abbey

June 2024 · 4 min read · Glastonbury

I've been to Glastonbury so many times, yet never visited the Abbey. Today we decided to spent the 12 quid each and wander round the ruins and grounds like proper tourists. It's the heart of the town, after all, and the most important site of medieval Christianity and the early Christian church. It was founded in the 7th century, and had considerable wealth and influence so that in it's heyday it was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in medieval England.

One can just glimpse it over a wall, but it's really worth going inside to really get a sense of the beginnings of this town. Now the surrounding area is alive with the buildings of the site of the well known Glastonbury festival - within days most of the roads will be shut and you won't be able to get near it except by circuitous routes.

The above Lady Chapel was built after a fire razed the original wattle church that once stood here. According to legend, the site was founded by Joseph of Arimathea and is considered the oldest Christian sanctuary in Britain. The Lady Chapel It was built some time in 1184, and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, reflecting the medieval reverence for Mary as a figure of devotion. I like Glastonbury for this - one sees images of the Virgin Mary as much as angels and green men. It's a melting pot of beliefs and faith, although of course the monks in the abbey itself would have been bemused to see the worshipping of crystals and dragons and ley lines out in the surrounding streets.

Architecturally, the chapel has Romanesque and early Gothic features, showcasing intricate carvings, detailed arches, and a vaulted ceiling that exemplifies the craftsmanship of the time, although actually they were building it to look at least a hundred years old to nod to how old the site was. Apparently the interior once housed a statue of the Virgin Mary, and attracted pilgrims who would come to worship her. Despite the abbey's partial destruction during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, and the missing roof and windows, it's probably the most intact building on the site. Like Wells Cathedral, it would have been beautifully painted, though there's no evidence of that now on the dull and grey skied stone.

Of course, the Abbey is also associated with the legendary King Arthur burial place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, whose graves were allegedly discovered by monks in the 12th century. Allegedly is the key word here - no one actually knows for sure, and it's probably more about myth making and being a drawcard for visitors than anything. King Arthur appears all across England for this reason, but there's not really a lot of fact that he even existed in the way he does in literature and folklore. Still, there's a great deal of romance around him and to be honest, I would rather hold onto the dubious fact that the once and future king of England was buried here with his beautiful Guinevere.

The striking thing abbout the Abbey is how huge it would have been. Sadly, after they killed the Last abbott in 1539 on top of Glastonbury Tor for theiving from the church - in reality he was just trying to hide relics he knew the state was about to pillage. Look at the image below. The whole green grassed area would have actually been inside the abbey. Absolutely massive and grand!

As usual, I think of the church as a massive cult really. People would have suffered to build it. People would have been poor in the surrounding countryside whilst the men of the church would have been well off. But still, it's hard not to admire the beauty of such a place, and mourn for what has past. Of course the state that it collapsed to support isn't much better - look at the Tories ruining the country and living off the fat of the land whilst people can't afford a gas bill.

There's also a museum of relics as well, where one can see old statues, stones, lead pencils, tiles, papal seals and any number of objects unearthed from the archaelogy of the place.