Every year, thousands of people visit Glastonbury Abbey. Behind the Christianity celebrated today, the worship of the Abbey is rooted in the holy land of the Isle of Avalon.

Christian pilgrims who come to Glastonbury now at the beginning of the 21st Century, share in the services which are celebrated in this ancient but still living church. Many tourists who think of Glastonbury Abbey as a historical site are unexpectedly surprised to discover that very week throughout the year, religious services are held in the remains of the Abbey's great medieval monastery or in St Patrick's Chapel.

A special Glastonbury pilgrimage takes place on the second Saturday of July each year, when pilgrims come from the local diocese and from around the world to celebrate in one of the world's most sacred places.

It takes centuries of worship to generate the feeling many people get when they visit Glastonbury. And it all started thousands of years ago. The Diocese of Bath and Wells is 1100 years' old in 2009.

Long before St Joseph of Arimathea arrived on the shores of Avalon, Glastonbury was probably a site for pre-Christian worship. Glastonbury Tor is a natural earth phenomenon that rises about 500 feet out of the Somerset Levels. If inspires awe today, as it does, it must have had a massive experience upon our ancient ancestors. It is fitting therefore that such a great Abbey was built beneath it.

In Christian legends about Glastonbury and Somerset, the boy Jesus was taken by his great-uncle Joseph of Arimathea to the area to buy tin from the Mendips.

Later, thirty years after the Crucifixion, St Joseph returned in 63AD to build Britain's first wattle and daub church. With him, he carried The Holy Grail: the Cup of the Last Supper and held up at the Crucifixion to catch Jesus' Blood. This small church became dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. These legends gave rise to popular devotion to the Virgin being expressed on the site of the present Lady Chapel in Glastonbury Abbey itself, and also inspired the title 'Our Lady St. Mary of Glastonbury' - which is still used today.

The Grail legends are clearly very ancient, and possibly of pre-Christian Celtic origin. But at Glastonbury, these ancient beliefs seem to have come together and intertwined with the Christian legends. The Holy Grail which St Joseph bore to Glastonbury was the inspiration of the Quests of King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table.

Although Arthur and his successors battled to keep the Saxons out of the west country, the invaders finally conquered the ancient county of Somerset in the 7th Century. Lucky for the Glastonbury monks, the Saxons had already converted to Christianity, and so their king Ine of Wessex became a great benefactor and protector to the Abbey. He was generous to the Abbey, and built a stone church which still forms the base of the western end of the nave. This church was enlarged and improved in the 10th Century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, St Dunstan.

St Dunstan became Abbot in 943 AD, while still young, and he transformed the monastery, rebuilt it, improved the splendour of the liturgy till Glastonbury became the leading cultural and religious place in England. He had a special skill of linking spirituality with industry, and holiness with learning. Glastonbury became so impressive that three late Saxon kings were buried in the Abbey. It became England's richest and most splendid monastery. St Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD.

In 1066 the Saxon monks were disrupted from their worship by the foreign invasion and subsequent conquest of England by the Normans.  The first Norman Abbot, Turstin or Thurstan exerted force on the brothers to ensure their support of King William. Skilled Norman masons contributed much to the Abbey.

They added magnificent buildings to the east of the older church, and away from the ancient cemetery, to the existing Saxon church.  In 1086, when the Domesday Book was commissioned to provide financial records and a census of England, Glastonbury Abbey was the richest monastery in the country. But it was not to last.

The ancient church was destroyed, as was most of St Dunstan's work, and even the great Norman edifices were consumed by fire in 1184. Many of the ancient treasures of the Abbey were also destroyed. Ancient religious codices, holy relics and religious riches were lost. The monks needed to find a new place to worship. The 12th century nave was renovated and used for this purpose for almost 30 years, until much of the new church was restored. The monks re-consecrated the Great Church and began services there on Christmas Day, 1213.

Was King Arthur buried in the Abbey?

Many believe that Arthur was buried in the graveyard of Glastonbury Abbey south of the Lady Chapel. In 1191 AD, Abbey monks excavated the spot as part of the restoration of the Abbey. Digging down seven feet, they unearthed a stone slab. Raising the slab they found beneath it, an ancient lead cross that was about a foot in length. It lay between two great inscribed menhirs. To their amazement, the monks found an old oak sarcophagus. On it was the Latin inscription: HIC IACIT SEPULTUS INCLITUS REX ARTURIUS IN INSULA AVALONIA, "Here lies buried the illustrious King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon". Beside the body of the large man, whom they supposed to be Arthur's, lay some smaller bones, and a few golden tresses of hair that turned to dust when touched.

They believed that the smaller bones were the remains of Guinevere. The bones were placed in specially constructed caskets.

In 1278 they were transferred, during a visit to Glastonbury by Edward I, to a black marble tomb which was placed before the high altar of the Abbey church. They brought great wealth and prestige to the Abbey, and huge revenues from pilgrims. There they remained until the Abbey was looted, torn down and sold off as a stone quarry in the great dissolution by Henry VIII which lasted between 1536 and 1541 AD. No one has seen or heard of the bodies since. Today a small board marks the spot of Arthur's final resting place.

Useful Links

With this link from the bbc you can explore Glastonbury, including The Tor, Glastonbury Abbey, Chalice Well, St John's Church, The Tribunal, Market Place, and the Somerset Rural Life Museum.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/nature/walks/index.shtml