A Bit About Britain

The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey are associated with two famous legends: firstly that Joseph of Arimathea visited Glastonbury in the 1st century AD, planting his staff which grew into a thorn tree and, secondly, that Glastonbury is Avalon and the burial place of King Arthur and his Queen, Guinevere. There is a thorn tree on the site that, it is claimed, descends from Joseph's staff. And there is a grave that purports to be that of Arthur and Guinevere. The abbey is said to date from 7th century; by 1086, it was allegedly the richest monastery in England and, in the 14th century, only Westminster was wealthier. The community was dissolved on the orders of Henry VIII in 1539 and the last abbot, Richard Whiting, was hanged, drawn and quartered on nearby Glastonbury Tor.