Explore
In Glastonbury, history, myth and legend combine in such a way that most visitors cannot fail to sense the powerful ambience of the town, which is now internationally renowned as centre for New Age culture and spiritual healing.
Glastonbury's early history is linked with its dominant landmark, the Tor. In days gone by, when the Somerset plain was a watery wilderness, this island refuge attracted settlers; first primitive peoples, then Celts, then Romans, then Saxons. Meanwhile the Isle was also developing as a religious centre; legend claims Joseph of Arimathea, with the Holy Grail, came to Glastonbury. Fact shows there was a Celtic monastery here by 500AD, which, during the next 1000 years evolved into one of England's wealthiest and most influential abbeys.
Medieval Glastonbury clusters around the evocative ruins of the Abbey which, following a disastrous fire in 1184, dates mostly from the 13th and 14th centuries. The town's many other historic buildings include the George and Pilgrim's Hotel, founded in the 1300s as an Inn for pilgrims; the Tribunal, a 15th century Merchants house and now the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum and Tourist Information Centre; the Perpendicular style parish church of St John, famous for its tower, spacious interior and bush of Glastonbury Thorn; St. Benedict's, an early 16th century church; Tudor almshouses; the Abbey Barn, now the Somerset Rural Life Museum; and the 1754 Pump House, a reminder of the town's brief career as a spa. Also of interest and steeped in legend is the Chalice Well, an ancient spring at the foot of the Tor; and Wearyall Hill, reputedly where Joseph of Arimathea first landed. it is both a thriving market town and a major tourist venue, welcoming thousands of visitors each year.
The Glastonbury Festival, held nearby in June, is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and a template for all the festivals that have come after it. The difference is that Glastonbury has all the best aspects of being at a Festival in one astonishing bundle.