Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury was among the wealthiest religious houses in England, with a foundation legend running back to Joseph of Arimathea planting his staff on Wearyall Hill, where it grew into a thorn that flowers at Christmas. In 1184 fire destroyed the buildings, and rebuilding needed money; in 1191 the monks announced they had found the bones of Arthur and Guinevere in the graveyard, with a lead cross identifying them, and pilgrimage income followed. Historians treat the discovery as a fundraising exercise, and the cross is lost. Henry VIII dissolved the abbey in 1539 and had the last abbot, Richard Whiting, hanged on the Tor. What survives is the Lady Chapel, sections of the choir walls, and the Abbot's Kitchen, an octagonal building that is one of the best-preserved medieval kitchens in Europe.

What to look for

• The choir walls - standing fragments of a very large abbey church.
• The Abbot's Kitchen - an intact octagonal medieval kitchen.
• The Arthur grave site - a marker where the 1191 discovery was claimed.
• The Lady Chapel - the earliest surviving part, with a crypt.

When to go

April to October for the grounds, which are extensive parkland around the ruins; the abbey opens year-round with shorter winter hours. The Glastonbury Festival at Pilton in June fills the town, though it is eight miles away.

Things to know

The Arthur story is medieval marketing rather than history, and the abbey presents it as legend. The ruins are fragmentary; the church is outlines and a few standing walls. Entry is charged and the town outside is heavily given over to new-age retail.

Nearby

Glastonbury Tor rises above the town; Wells cathedral is eight kilometres north.

Key facts