The massive and evocative ruins of the first Christian sanctuary in the British Isles stand mysteriously alive in a lush 36 acre park.
The space that these ruins occupy has been sacred ground for centuries. The druids used it as a pagen holy site, and during Joseph of Arimathea’s supposed visit here, he build a simple place of worship. In the 12th century – because of that legendary connection – Glastonbury was the leading Christian pilgrimage site in all of Britain. The popular abbey grew powerful and very wealthy, employing a thousand people to serve the needs of the pilgrims.
In 1184, there was a devastating fire in the monastery, and in 1191, the abbot here “discovered” – with the help of a divine dream – the tomb and bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. Of course, this discovery boosted the pilgrim trade in Glastonbury, and the new revenues helped to rebuild the abbey.
Then, in 1539, King Henry VIII ordered the abbey’s destruction. When Glastonbury Abbot Richard Whiting questioned the king’s decision, he was branded a traitor, hung at the top of Glastonbury Tor (after carrying up the plank that would support the noose), and his body cut into four pieces. His head was stuck over the gateway to the former abbey precinct. After this harsh example, the other abbots accepted the king’s dissolution of England’s abbeys, with many returning to monastic centers in France. Glastonbury Abbey was destroyed. With the roof removed, it fell into ruin and was used as a quarry.
Today, the abbey attracts both the curious and the pious. Tie-dyed, starry-eyed pilgrims seem to float through the grounds, naturally high. Others lie on the grave of King Arthur, whose burial site is marked off in the center of the abbey ruins.