On Saturday the 23rd September 2023 after a visit to Glastonbury Somerset, we drove on to Castle Combe in Wiltshire. We parked up in the visitor car park on Dunns Lane and walked down into the village. Castle Combe is a truly delightful example of the traditional English village.
We pass the 12th century Castle Inn.
Next to this is the market cross.
The 14th-century market cross, erected when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was granted, stands where the three principal streets of the lower village converge. The Market Cross, a Scheduled Monument, reflects "the significance of the cloth industry in this area". Next to the cross is one of Castle Combe's two village pumps. Small stone steps near the cross were for horse riders to mount and dismount, and close by are the remains of the buttercross, built in the late 19th century from old masonry. This structure, "also known as Weavers’ Steps and ‘the stone’", is another Scheduled Monument.
The village takes its name from the 12th-century castle which stood about 1⁄3 mile (500 m) to the north. The site where the castle once stood now only contains the old earthworks and masonry, which are estimated to date from the 12th century. It is believed that the castle was constructed as the seat of the Barony of Combe under Reginald de Dunstanville either during the reign of Henry I or his son. Reginald was thought to support Empress Matilda during the Anarchy, and the castle was constructed during the wave of castle buildings of the Anarchy period.
Architecturally, little has changed since the 15th century; there are no street lights or TV aerials and, as you savour the peaceful atmosphere, you will understand why it has won the coveted “Prettiest Village in England” award so many times. Castle Combe is also a favoured location for Hollywood film and television companies.
The land above Castle Combe was originally home to a Roman Villa vacated in the 5th Century AD. Little happened until Reginald de Dunstanville built a Norman Castle on Castle Hill during the English Civil War of 1135-1154, so putting the 'Castle' into Castle Combe.
By the 14th Century this Norman castle had fallen into a state beyond repair and a new Manor House was built in the shelter of the valley below. The Manor House, now our hotel, is still on the same site today though little remains of the original structure.
The Middle Ages were to be a very prosperous time for Castle Combe when much of the village as we see today was constructed; the reason for this prosperity was the growth of a thriving cloth industry. Benefiting from the wool from huge local flocks of sheep, the fast flowing Bybrook River, fullers earth and the great skill of local weavers.
The red and white Castle Combe cloth became renowned not only in the markets of Bristol and Cirencester but also in London and abroad. With increasing size and wealth came greater stature and the right to hold a weekly market was granted by Henry VI in 1440 centred on the market cross - the focal point of the village.
The industry however diminished in the 16th Century with the slowing of the flow of the Bybrook, the cloth manufacture moved to other nearby areas in Gloucestershire, but not before Castle Combe was left with the buildings that make it the remarkable village it remains today.
Castle Combe has long been a favoured location by Hollywood film, television and advertising companies. Given that there are no TV aerials or telegraph poles in sight, the whole village makes the perfect filmset.
In 1967 'Dr Dolittle' was filmed in the village starring Rex Harrison and Anthony Newley. Castle Combe was transformed into the seaport of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh.
In recent years other major Hollywood films have been shot here such as 'Stardust' (2008), 'The Wolfman' (2009) and in 2010 Steven Spielberg shot scenes for the film adaptation of 'War Horse'. TV programmes such as 'Poirot' and 'Robin of Sherwood' have also been filmed in the village.
We stop off at the tearoom at the old stables for tea and
cake.
We stop off at the tearoom at the old stables for tea and
cake.
We walk back through the village.
We pass St Andrews Church.
Although outwardly you can see signs of a thriving village from the medieval period (1066-1485), there were much earlier residents in this wooded valley. Long before the arrival of the Romans in Britain in 43 AD, there is evidence of an early Celtic tribe’s pagan temple where St Andrew’s now stands.
Originally founded in the 13th century, the church building has grown and evolved over the centuries. The nave was added in the 14th century and the tower completed in the 16th century. As a result of the church falling into serious disrepair, a substantial amount of rebuilding of the church had to take place in 1850-51. An annex to the north side of the church housing some modern amenities was completed in 2018.
Following the Norman invasion of England in 1066, lands of the defeated Saxon aristocracy were bestowed by King William I (the Conqueror) on his Knights. The Manor (estate) of “Cumbe”, as Castle Combe was then known, was bestowed on a nobleman, Humphrey de L’Isle. His daughter married Reginald de Dunstanville, who became the first Baron/Lord of Castle Combe. For over 850 years, Castle Combe was a barony and evidence of the Lords of the Manor and their families through this period can be found in the church and churchyard.
On the north side of the church is a superb carved stone monument of a Norman Knight, Sir Walter de Dunstanville, Baron of Castle Combe, who died in 1270. Above the tomb, a stained glass window displays the coats of arms of the Scrope family (pronounced “Scroop”), who were Lords of the Manor for almost 500 years before selling the estate at auction to a member of the Lancastrian Gorst family in 1867.
The tower was started in 1434 with monies from local wealthy wool merchants and from the estate of Sir John Fastolf. The tower’s beautiful fan vault ceiling is reminiscent of Bath Abbey.
The base of the tower houses one of the oldest working faceless medieval clocks in the country.
We return to the car to drive back to our cottage in Bradford-on-Avon.
On Saturday the 23rd September 2023, after deliberating where to go today we opted for Glastonbury. Made sense to visit here, seeing as its the Autumn Equinox/Mabon. So we left Bradford-On-Avon where we were staying for the weekend and drove to Glastonbury. Mel and I arrived and parked up in St Johns Car Park.
We walked around and passed the Church of St John the Baptist.
The present church replaced an earlier one. Though documentary evidence for St John's survives only from the later 12th century, other evidence tends to suggest that a church existed on this site at a significantly earlier date. According to legend, the original church was built by Saint Dunstan in the tenth century. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower that possibly dated from Saxon times, and a later Norman nave arcade on the same plan as the existing one. A central tower survived until the 15th century, but is believed to have collapsed, at which time the church was rebuilt. In the north aisle, 12th-century fabric survives in the former Saint Katherine's Chapel.
The church was used for shelter by Monmouth's troops in June 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion. It is also recorded that on four occasions between 1800 and 1804, French prisoners of war were locked up for the night inside the church, presumably whilst in transit.
Between 1856-57 the church was restored and reseated by Sir George Gilbert Scott at a cost of £3000, and its gothic character re-emphasized. The church conforms in its entirety to a style of architecture known as Perpendicular Gothic.
The church is built of Doulting stone, Street stone and the local Tor burr, and is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestory of seven bays.
We walk along Glastonbury's High Street and its many gothic, pagan and witchcraft type shops.
Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that Glastonbury has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue and Sharpham Park approximately 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, that dates back to the Bronze Age. Centwine was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey, which dominated the town for the next 700 years. One of the most important abbeys in England, it was the site of Edmund Ironside's coronation as King of England in 1016. Many of the oldest surviving buildings in the town, including the Tribunal, George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn and the Somerset Rural Life Museum, which is based at the site of a 14th-century abbey manor barn, often referred to as a tithe barn, are associated with the abbey. The Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century.
The town became a centre for commerce, which led to the construction of the market cross, Glastonbury Canal and the Glastonbury and Street railway station, the largest station on the original Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust and nearby is the Ham Wall National Nature Reserve.
Glastonbury has been described as having a New Age community, and possibly being where New Age beliefs originated at the turn of the twentieth century. It is notable for myths and legends often related to Glastonbury Tor, concerning Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and King Arthur. Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury and stuck his staff into the ground, when it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn. The presence of a landscape zodiac around the town has been suggested but no evidence has been discovered. The Glastonbury Festival, held in the nearby village of Pilton, takes its name from the town.
Glastonbury is notable for myths and legends concerning Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and King Arthur as recorded by ancient historians William of Malmesbury, Venerable Bede, Gerald of Wales and Geoffrey of Monmouth. Many long-standing and cherished legends were examined in a four-year study by archaeologists, led by Professor Roberta Gilchrist, at the University of Reading, who, amongst other findings, speculated that the connection with King Arthur and his Queen, Guinevere, was created deliberately by the monks in 1184 to meet a financial crisis caused by a devastating fire. Other myths examined include the visit by Jesus, the building of the oldest church in England, and the flowering of the walking stick. Roberta Gilchrist stated, "We didn't claim to disprove the legendary associations, nor would we wish to". The site of King Arthur's supposed grave contained material dating from between the 11th and 15th centuries. Gilchrist said, "That doesn't dispel the Arthurian legend, it just means the pit [20th century archaeologist Ralegh Radford] excavated he rather over-claimed." The study made new archaeological finds; its leader found Glastonbury to be a remarkable archaeological site. The new results were reported on the Glastonbury Abbey Web site, and were to be incorporated into the Abbey's guidebook; however, the leader of the study, who became a trustee of Glastonbury, said "We are not in the business of destroying people's beliefs ... A thousand years of beliefs and legends are part of the intangible history of this remarkable place". Gilchrist went on to say, "archaeology can help us to understand how legends evolve and what people in the past believed". She noted that the project has actually uncovered the first definitive proof of occupation at the Glastonbury Abbey site during the fifth century—when Arthur allegedly lived.
The legend that Joseph of Arimathea retrieved certain holy relics was introduced by the French poet Robert de Boron in his 13th-century version of the grail story, thought to have been a trilogy though only fragments of the later books survive today. The work became the inspiration for the later Vulgate Cycle of Arthurian tales.
De Boron's account relates how Joseph captured Jesus's blood in a cup (the "Holy Grail") which was subsequently brought to Britain. The Vulgate Cycle reworked Boron's original tale. Joseph of Arimathea was no longer the chief character in the Grail origin: Joseph's son, Josephus, took over his role of the Grail keeper. The earliest versions of the grail romance, however, do not call the grail "holy" or mention anything about blood, Joseph or Glastonbury.
We walk down into Market Place and pass the Glastonbury Market Cross.
Glastonbury's cross replaced an earlier structure of early 16th century origin, described as having been "of some antiquity", octagonal with clustered pillars, a central column and a roof. It fell into a state of disrepair and was demolished around 1806. Later in the 19th century, T. Porch, the proprietor of Glastonbury Abbey, proposed that a new market cross be erected on the same site. It was erected in 1846 under the supervision of Ferrey and has most recently undergone restoration in 2005.
We walk into Glastonbury Abbey and didn't go any further, as I was too tight to pay the silly admission fee to see the ruins!
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It was destroyed by a major fire in 1184, but subsequently rebuilt and by the 14th century was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England. The abbey controlled large tracts of the surrounding land and was instrumental in major drainage projects on the Somerset Levels. The abbey was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII of England. The last abbot, Richard Whiting (Whyting), was hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor on Glastonbury Tor in 1539.
From at least the 12th century, the Glastonbury area has been associated with the legend of King Arthur, a connection promoted by medieval monks who asserted that Glastonbury was Avalon. Christian legends have claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century.
We walk up Magdalene Street and pop into a witchcraft market being held in the Town Hall.
We leave and walk on heading towards Chalice Well before onto Glastonbury Tor.
Our first proper view of The Tor from the Bere Lane.
Glastonbury Zodiac
In 1934 artist Katherine Maltwood suggested a landscape zodiac, a map of the stars on a gigantic scale, formed by features in the landscape such as roads, streams and field boundaries, could be found situated around Glastonbury. She held that the "temple" was created by Sumerians about 2700 BC. The idea of a prehistoric landscape zodiac fell into disrepute when two independent studies examined the Glastonbury Zodiac, one by Ian Burrow in 1975 and the other by Tom Williamson and Liz Bellamy in 1983. These both used standard methods of landscape historical research. Both studies concluded that the evidence contradicted the idea of an ancient zodiac. The eye of Capricorn identified by Maltwood was a haystack. The western wing of the Aquarius phoenix was a road laid in 1782 to run around Glastonbury, and older maps dating back to the 1620s show the road had no predecessors. The Cancer boat (not a crab as in conventional western astrology) consists of a network of 18th-century drainage ditches and paths. There are some Neolithic paths preserved in the peat of the bog formerly comprising most of the area, but none of the known paths match the lines of the zodiac features. There is no support for this theory, or for the existence of the "temple" in any form, from conventional archaeologists. Glastonbury is also said to be the centre of several ley lines.
We enter Chalice Well and its free today until midday to allow people to pray and meditate for the Mabon/Autumn Equinox celebrations!
The Chalice Well, also known as the Red Spring, is a well situated near the summit of Chalice Hill, a small hill next to Glastonbury Tor in Glastonbury, Somerset.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the well has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Philip Rahtz found several dozen flints from the upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic, and a shard of Iron Age pottery nearby. Roman and medieval sherds were also found in more recent layers.
Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 litres) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxidized at the surface and is precipitated. Like the hot springs in the nearby city of Bath's Roman built baths, the water is reputed to possess healing qualities.
Wells often feature in Welsh and Irish mythology as gateways to the spirit world. The overlapping of the inner and outer worlds is represented by the well cover, designed by the church architect and archaeologist Frederick Bligh Bond and presented as a gift after the Great War in 1919. The two interlocking circles constitute the symbol known as the Vesica Piscis. In the well lid design, a spear or a sword bisects these two circles, a possible reference to Excalibur, the sword of the legendary King Arthur, believed by some to be buried at the nearby Glastonbury Abbey. Foliage represents the Glastonbury Thorn. Bligh Bond wrote that the vesica design for the well cover was "typical of many early diagrams, all having the same object – the rendering of spiritual truth by means of the purest, most intellectual system of imagery conceived by the mind, namely, truth which is ‘aeonial’ or eternal, of which geometry is the best interpreter, since it can figure for us with remarkable suggestiveness those formative principles upon which the Father has built his Creation, principles which shall endure when heaven and earth have died."
Christian mythology suggests that Chalice Well marks the site where Joseph of Arimathea placed the chalice that had caught the drops of Christ's blood at the Crucifixion, linking the Well to the wealth of speculation surrounding the existence of the Holy Grail. The red of the water is also said by some Christians to represent the rusty iron nails used at the Crucifixion. "It is said that beneath its waters Joseph of Arimathea hid the Chalice of the Last Supper and immediately the waters flowed red. According, however, to William of Malmesbury (died 1143?), who first recorded the well, the waters gushed sometimes red, and sometimes blue." According to local lore, the waters from this well have three attributes in common with human blood: the waters are red; the water coagulates as does hemoglobin; and the water is warm. The iron content gives both the reddish color and the coagulation of rust and accumulation of ferric oxide. The subterranean water from the well is often warmer than the surface ground temperature, and even in winter roses near the well bloom when other plants and flowers further away do not. Indeed, the Holy Thorn Tree, also known as the Glastonbury Thorn (Crataegus Monogyna praecox) blooms in the Chalice Well garden every Christmas. The local legend says that this tree took root when Joseph of Arimathea drove his staff into the ground near the well.
Frequent events are held in the grounds of Chalice Well including annual celebrations for the winter and summer solstices, World Peace Day, Easter, Michaelmas and Samhain (Halloween). It is a grade I listed building.
Hakeem Noor-ud-Din and Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad in their commentaries on the Quran considered the possibility that the story of the Seven Sleepers (from surah 18, Al-Kahf, “The Cave”) was based on the earlier legend of Joseph of Arimathea having come to Glastonbury, with the cave being a metaphor for England, though they considered the Catacombs of Rome a more likely source of the legend.
Known as the pagan Thanksgiving, Mabon marks the Autumn Equinox, when day and night are equal, making it a time of balance, equality and harmony. In ancient times Mabon was a celebration of the second harvest (Lughnasadh was the first) when farmers gathered hearty foods like gourds, pumpkins, grapes and apples.
Modern Mabon celebrations are a time to give thanks for the abundance of Mother Earth - both literally and spiritually. It’s also a good time to reflect on the Wheel of the Year, recognizing your successes and letting go of the things that did not serve you during the past twelve months.
The Chalice Well
Modern Pagans began celebrating Mabon as the last of the eight Sabbats in the 1970s, but its roots as a harvest festival go back to ancient times.
Named after the ancient Welsh hero named Mabon ap Modron, which means Son of Mother, Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals that take place in the Wheel of the Year (Lughnasadh is the first and Samhain is the third). Similar to Apollo, the figure of Mabon was depicted as a handsome youth with a lyre. As a baby Mabon was said to have been held hostage as a baby in the underworld, similar to the story of Persephone and Demeter.
Indeed, the Greek goddess Demeter is much more closely associated with the Autumn harvest, as it was her grief at losing her daughter that turned the earth from lush abundance to barren cold.
As the Wheel of the year comes to an end, Mabon is a good time to set intentions that involve decrease and reduction such as ending bad relationships, unhealthy habits or self destructive beliefs.
MABON SYMBOLS
Symbols: Cornucopia (horn of plenty), pinecones, seeds
Colors: Orange, red, yellow, brown, copper, dark yellow, dark green
Deities: Mabon, Green Man, Demeter, Persephone, Morgan, Pomona, Inanna
Animals: Owl, stag, blackbird, salmon
I leave the Chalice Well and head on up the road a short way before turning onto Wellhouse Lane.
Here on the corner is the Old Toll House, still displaying the toll prices!
We take the footpath on our right and finally I am walking up to the Glastonbury Tor that has been on my to do list for years!
The Tor is mentioned in Celtic mythology, particularly in myths linked to King Arthur, and has several other enduring mythological and spiritual associations.
The conical hill of clay and Blue Lias rises from the Somerset Levels. It was formed when surrounding softer deposits were eroded, leaving a hard cap of sandstone exposed. The slopes of the hill are terraced, but the method by which they were formed remains unexplained.
Archaeological excavations during the 20th century sought to clarify the background of the monument and church, but some aspects of their history remain unexplained. Artefacts from human visitation have been found, dating from the Iron Age to Roman eras. Several buildings were constructed on the summit during Saxon and early medieval periods; they have been interpreted as an early church and monks' hermitage. The head of a wheel cross dating from the 10th or 11th century has been recovered. The original wooden church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1275, and the stone Church of St Michael was built on the site in the 14th century. Its tower remains, although it has been restored and partially rebuilt several times.
It is a steady climb up the hill and we take our time in the heat.
The origin of the name Glastonbury is unclear, but when the settlement was first recorded in the late 7th and early 8th centuries it was called Glestingaburg. Of the latter name, Glestinga is obscure and may derive from an Old English word or Celtic personal name. It may derive from a person or kinship group named Glast. The second half of the name, -burg, is Anglo-Saxon in origin and could refer to either a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure.
Tor is an English word referring to "a bare rock mass surmounted and surrounded by blocks and boulders", deriving from the Old English torr. The Celtic name of the Tor was Ynys Wydryn, or sometimes Ynys Gutrin, meaning 'Isle of Glass'. At this time the plain was flooded, the isle becoming a peninsula at low tide.
The Tor is in the middle of the Summerland Meadows, part of the Somerset Levels, rising to an elevation of 518 feet (158 m). The plain is reclaimed fen above which the Tor is clearly visible for miles around. It has been described as an island, but actually sits at the western end of a peninsula washed on three sides by the River Brue.
The Tor is formed from rocks dating from the early Jurassic Period, namely varied layers of Lias Group strata. The uppermost of these, forming the Tor itself, are a succession of rocks assigned to the Bridport Sand Formation. These rocks sit upon strata forming the broader hill on which the Tor stands; the various layers of the Beacon Limestone Formation and the Dyrham Formation.The Bridport Sands have acted as a caprock, protecting the lower layers from erosion.
The iron-rich waters of Chalice Well, a spring at the base of the Tor, flow out as an artesian well impregnating the sandstone around it with iron oxides that have reinforced it to produce the caprock. Iron-rich but oxygen-poor water in the aquifer carries dissolved iron "ferrous" iron, but as the water surfaces and its oxygen content rises, the oxidised iron "ferric" iron drops out as insoluble "rusty" oxides that bind to the surrounding stone, hardening it.
The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana when the Tor appears to rise out of the mist. This optical phenomenon occurs because rays of light are strongly bent when they pass through air layers of different temperatures in a steep thermal inversion where an atmospheric duct has formed. The Italian term Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, a powerful sorceress in Arthurian legend.
The sides of the Tor have seven deep, roughly symmetrical terraces, or lynchets. Their formation remains a mystery with many possible explanations. They may have been formed as a result of natural differentiation of the layers of Lias stone and clay or used by farmers during the Middle Ages as terraced hills to make ploughing for crops easier. Author Nicholas Mann questions this theory. If agriculture had been the reason for the creation of the terraces, it would be expected that the effort would be concentrated on the south side, where the sunny conditions would provide a good yield, but the terraces are equally deep on the northern side, which would provide little benefit. Additionally, none of the other slopes of the island has been terraced, even though the more sheltered locations would provide a greater return on the labour involved.
Other explanations have been suggested for the terraces, including the construction of defensive ramparts. Iron Age hill forts including the nearby Cadbury Castle in Somerset show evidence of extensive fortification of their slopes. The normal form of ramparts is a bank and ditch, but there is no evidence of this arrangement on the Tor. South Cadbury, one of the most extensively fortified places in early Britain, had three concentric rings of banks and ditches supporting an 44-acre (18 ha) enclosure.
By contrast, the Tor has seven rings and very little space on top for the safekeeping of a community. It has been suggested, that a defensive function may have been linked with Ponter's Ball Dyke, a linear earthwork about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the Tor. It consists of an embankment with a ditch on the east side. The purpose and provenance of the dyke are unclear. It is possible that it was part of a longer defensive barrier associated with New Ditch, three miles to the south-west, which is built in a similar manner. It has been suggested by Ralegh Radford that it is part of a great Celtic sanctuary, probably 3rd century BC, while others, including Philip Rahtz, date it to the post-Roman period and link it to the Dark Age occupation on Glastonbury Tor. The 1970 excavation suggests the 12th century or later. The historian Ronald Hutton also mentions the alternative possibility that the terraces are the remains of a medieval "spiral walkway" created for pilgrims to reach the church on the summit, similar to that at Whitby Abbey.
Another suggestion is that the terraces are the remains of a three-dimensional labyrinth, first proposed by Geoffrey Russell in 1968. He states that the classical labyrinth (Caerdroia), a design found all over the Neolithic world, can be easily transposed onto the Tor so that by walking around the terraces a person eventually reaches the top in the same pattern. Evaluating this hypothesis is not easy. A labyrinth would very likely place the terraces in the Neolithic era, but given the amount of occupation since then, there may have been substantial modifications by farmers or monks, and conclusive excavations have not been carried out. In a more recent book, Hutton writes that "the labyrinth does not seem to be an ancient sacred structure"
We climb the final stretch up and we are now at the summit of Glastonbury Tor!
During the late Saxon and early medieval period, there were at least four buildings on the summit. The base of a stone cross demonstrates Christian use of the site during this period, and it may have been a hermitage. The broken head of a wheel cross dated to the 10th or 11th century was found partway down the hill and may have been the head of the cross that stood on the summit. The head of the cross is now in the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.
The earliest timber church, dedicated to St Michael, is believed to have been constructed in the 11th or 12th century; from which post holes have since been identified.Associat ed monk cells have also been identified.
In 1243 Henry III granted a charter for a six-day fair at the site.
St Michael's Church was destroyed by an earthquake on 11 September 1275. According to the British Geological Survey, the earthquake was felt in London, Canterbury and Wales, and was reported to have destroyed many houses and churches in England. The intensity of shaking was greater than 7 MSK, with its epicentre in the area around Portsmouth or Chichester, South England.
A second church, also dedicated to St Michael, was built of local sandstone in the 14th century by the Abbot Adam of Sodbury, incorporating the foundations of the previous building. It included stained glass and decorated floor tiles. There was also a portable altar of Purbeck Marble; it is likely that the Monastery of St Michael on the Tor was a daughter house of Glastonbury Abbey.
St Michael's Church survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 when, except for the tower, it was demolished. The Tor was the place of execution where Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, was hanged, drawn and quartered along with two of his monks, John Thorne and Roger James. The three-storey tower of St Michael's Church survives. It has corner buttresses and perpendicular bell openings. There is a sculptured tablet with an image of an eagle below the parapet.
In 1786, Richard Colt Hoare of Stourhead bought the Tor and funded the repair of the tower in 1804, including the rebuilding of the north-east corner. It was then sold to the Very Rev. Hon. George Neville-Grenville and included in the Butleigh Manor until the 20th century. The last owner of the Tor was Robert Neville-Grenville who wished to give the Tor to the National Trust along with the Glastonbury Tribunal. After his death in 1936 it was sold to The National Trust who raised money by Public Subscription for its upkeep.
The National Trust took control of the Tor in 1937, but repairs were delayed until after the Second World War. During the 1960s, excavations identified cracks in the rock, suggesting the ground had moved in the past. This, combined with wind erosion, started to expose the footings of the tower, which were repaired with concrete. Erosion caused by the feet of the increasing number of visitors was also a problem and paths were laid to enable them to reach the summit without damaging the terraces. After 2000, enhancements to the access and repairs to the tower, including rebuilding of the parapet, were carried out. These included the replacement of some of the masonry damaged by earlier repairs with new stone from the Hadspen Quarry.
A model vaguely based on Glastonbury Tor (albeit with a tree instead of the tower) was incorporated into the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. As the athletes entered the stadium, their flags were displayed on the terraces of the model.
The Tor seems to have been called Ynys yr Afalon (meaning "The Isle of Avalon") by the Britons and is believed by some, including the 12th and 13th century writer Gerald of Wales, to be the Avalon of Arthurian legend.The Tor has been associated with the name Avalon, and identified with King Arthur, since the alleged discovery of his and Queen Guinevere's neatly labelled coffins in 1191, recounted by Gerald of Wales. Author Christopher L. Hodapp asserts in his book The Templar Code for Dummies that Glastonbury Tor is one of the possible locations of the Holy Grail, because it is close to the monastery that housed the Nanteos Cup.
With the 19th century resurgence of interest in Celtic mythology, the Tor became associated with Gwyn ap Nudd, the first Lord of the Otherworld (Annwn) and later King of the Fairies. The Tor came to be represented as an entrance to Annwn or to Avalon, the land of the fairies. The Tor is supposedly a gateway into "The Land of the Dead (Avalon)".
A persistent myth of more recent origin is that of the Glastonbury Zodiac, a purported astrological zodiac of gargantuan proportions said to have been carved into the land along ancient hedgerows and trackways, in which the Tor forms part of the figure representing Aquarius. The theory was first put forward in 1927 by Katherine Maltwood, an artist with interest in the occult, who thought the zodiac was constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. But the vast majority of the land said by Maltwood to be covered by the zodiac was under several feet of water at the proposed time of its construction, and many of the features such as field boundaries and roads are recent.
The Tor and other sites in Glastonbury have also been significant in the modern-day Goddess movement, with the flow from the Chalice Well seen as representing menstrual flow and the Tor being seen as either a breast or the whole figure of the Goddess. This has been celebrated with an effigy of the Goddess leading an annual procession up the Tor.
It is said that Brigid of Kildare is depicted milking a cow as a stone carving above one of the entrances to the tower.
We sit on to hill top taking in the 360 degrees views across the Somerset Levels, Dorset, Wiltshire and Wales.
We decide to take a different way back down, on hindsight there is a better way down than the steep way down the hillside we took. It was a bit slippery in places and I ended up on my arse!
Down at the bottom of the hill , we came across an old stone that I can find out nothing about. I'll keep looking.
We walk along Wellhouse Lane with views back up to The Tor.
We reach The White Spring, I can see through a window into the darkness a candle little well and people praying inside. I took no photos as a sign said no photography. Really wish I had though, since when did I take notice of rules. Probably because Mel would have given me a hard time about it!
It is one of the greatest mysteries of the Isle of Avalon that two different healing springs, one touched red with iron, the other white with calcite, should rise within a few feet of each other from the caverns beneath Glastonbury Tor. Both have healing in their flow.
In honour of the Spirit of the White Spring, a Temple has been created here in gratitude for the gift of pure water. A Victorian built Well House that nestles beneath Glastonbury Tor was ideal for this purpose, a blessing indeed. Cavernous and set apart, in blackness or candle lit, mysterious it remains. A wonderful contrast to the sunlit gardens of Chalice Well of the Red Spring. The interior consists of three domed vaults 16ft high, with beautiful bowed floors - like the hull of a boat moored at the portal to the Otherworld. With it's constant temperature, and the sound of the perpetually flowing water, it is a unique and sacred space.
A series of pools have been built according to the principles of sacred geometry, and simple shrines in honour of the ancient energies and spirits of Avalon have been created within the temple. All enhanced by the ley line known as the Michael line which flows through this place. We honour Brigid as guardian, Our Lady of Avalon, the King of the Realm of Faery, and their ancient presence in this sacred space.
The companions of the White Spring, men and women who give their time and expertise freely, have designed, built and created the temple and continue to care for it, inspired and greatly helped by the blessings of spirit.
Many groups, pilgrims, and local people - from a wide diversity of backgrounds and traditions - have come to appreciate the blessings of this sacred space. They gather together to celebrate the turning of the seasons and at the full and dark moon.
We walk back through Glastonbury down Chilkwell Street, up Wells Road into Silver Street and bacl to the Car Park.
We jump back in the car and drive a short way to a town called Street to visit the Hecks Cider Farm.
The Hecks family have been making traditional farmhouse cider in Somerset for six generations, since 1841.
In 1896, they started to sell their cider from thier farm shop in Street.
They make their cider by blending juice from apples all grown locally in the farm’s orchards. The cider is fermented in wooden barrels and sold draught from the wood.
SINGLE VARIETY CIDERS
BROWN’S APPLE:
Bred in Devon the early part of the 20th century, Brown’s has been at the fore front of the cider revival for recent years due to it’s trouble free nature. It produces a crisp, acidic cider with elderflower over-tones. LOYAL DRAIN (RED JERSEY):
Possibly the most local of ciders, Red Jersey has its roots in the Shepton Mallet area. Lots of tannin and a strong smoky aftertaste, this is a quality bittersweet cider. TREMLETT’S BITTER:
A butterscotch aftertaste is just one of the surprises of this cider from the popular Devon variety. It is sharp and dry without too much acidity, a popular choice wherever cider is made. PORT WINE OF GLASTONBURY:
True to its name, this cider has in origins in orchards below Glastonbury Tor. Easy on the palate, this is a true session cider with light effervesence and lemony tones. YARLINGTON MILL:
This is one of the most full bodied and rounded ciders, with a rich and fruity sweetness. A great partner to the classic ploughman’s lunch, a true drinkers cider. SLACK-MA-GIRDLE:
As good a cider as its name is unusual, this is one you won’t forget. A wine like cider which is fruity on the nose with an intriguing walnut aftertaste. We leave the origins of its name to the drinker’s imagination. DUNKERTON’S LATE SWEET:
Raised by Mr Dunkerton of Baltonsborough and a traditional variety for its area. This is a honeyed fruity smooth cider, perfect for that lazy hazy summers day picnic. DABINETT:
Discovered by William Dabinet of Somerset, this is one of the most popular varieties of cider apple, producing a consistently high quality and rounded cider, with a sweet fruity astringency. One for the connoisseur. KINGSTON BLACK:
The Kingston Black arose in Somerset in the late 19th Century and produces here a cider that is classic in appearance, taste and strength. It is copper coloured, rounded, almost velvety in texture and is full of flavour. MORGAN SWEET:
Arising in Somerset in the 18th Century and once common throughout Somerset, Devon and Gloucestershire the Morgan’s Sweet is an early apple and produces a refreshing and light coloured cider. Ideal for sitting with in the garden. PORTER’S PERFECTION:
Now common throughout Somerset, this apple originated in the 19th Century in East Lambrook. The cider is really unusual and surprisingly flavoured – its pinky hue the first sign that this is no ordinary cider. A very crisp taste and yet not acidic – more like wine, though it doesn’t need to be drunk that way. VILBERIE:
Originally from Brittany and later introduced to Hereford, this apple produces a dry, drinkable cider with an interesting aftertaste.
From Street we drive to the next stop today, Castle Combe in Wiltshire.
