Located in the county of Somerset, and around 25 miles south, and slightly west, of Bristol is the town of Glastonbury.
During the late 7th century, the first grants of land at Glastonbury were recorded, and a monastery was founded shortly afterwards. The building work was extended in the 10th century, and it became the burial place for multiple Saxon kings. Glastonbury Abbey would become associated with the legends of both Joseph of Arimathea and King Arthur.
At the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, Glastonbury had a population of around 400, and the abbey was the richest monastery in the country. During the medieval era a claim arose that the abbey's first founder was Joseph of Arimathea - the man who buried Jesus. This in turn led to speculation regarding the Holy Grail being buried under a spring in Glastonbury. In 1191 another rumour took hold with the discovery of a tomb in the abbey's cemetery with the bones of two people, said to be none other than King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The bodies were later re-interred in the late 13th century at a ceremony attended by King Edward I and Queen Eleanor.
About a mile east of the town centre is Glastonbury Tor. This is a 158-metre (518 ft) high hill surrounded by otherwise predominantly flat land. At its summit is St Michael's Tower. This is the remains of the Church of St Michael, which in turn replaced an earlier wooden church that was destroyed in an earthquake in 1275.
In 1539 Glastonbury Abbey was destroyed as part of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. The last abbot, Richard Whiting, was hanged, drawn and quartered along with two of his monks at Glastonbury Tor after refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. The Church of St Michael at the top of Tor Hill was also destroyed around this time, although the tower was spared. To this day, it can be seen from several miles away.
In addition to the abbey ruins, two prominent churches feature in the town centre. St Benedict's Church (featured around the 3-minute mark) dates from the 14th and 15th centuries and St John's Church (featured around the 11-and-a-half-minute mark) was built in the 15th century on the site of an older church dating from the 10th century. Both were built in the Perpendicular Gothic style, with some restoration work in the 19th century in each case.
From the 13th century, Glastonbury had a thriving wool trade. This continued up until the 19th century when large mill towns elsewhere left it unable to compete in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution.
In 1833 Glastonbury Canal opened, running from Glastonbury to Highbridge and into the Bristol Channel. By 1854 the canal was mostly abandoned and much of the towpaths were converted into a railway. During this same year, the railway arrived with a line opening from Highbridge to Evercreech. The station was renamed in 1886 to Glastonbury and Street (Street being the name of the neighbouring village), but was eventually closed in 1966 due to the Beeching Cuts. This was one of over 2,000 stations to be closed as part of a controversial plan to encourage motorway travel. Today, public transport to Glastonbury consists primarily of bus services from Bristol and Yeovil. The cathedral city of Wells is just five miles away, and can easily be combined as part of a day trip.
In 1970 the very first Glastonbury Festival took place, albeit promoted initially as Pilton Pop, Folk & Blues Festival. Its organiser, Michael Eavis, had been inspired by an open-air festival he had recently attended and decided to throw his own at Worthy Farm, around six miles east of Glastonbury town centre. Around 1,500 people attended and tickets were £1. In 1971 it became known as Glastonbury Fair, and was attended by 1,200. Entry was free as it was felt that other festivals at the time were over-commercialised. It featured the first use of the famous Pyramid Stage - a one-tenth replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza built from scaffolding and metal sheeting. It would take a decade later, in 1981, for it to become an annual event. At the time of writing, entry costs £335 + £5 booking fee, ironically pricing out working class individuals to whom Eavis supposedly represents in his political messaging.
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Filmed: 30th October 2022
Link to the walk on Google Maps: goo.gl/maps/Pnd9J72r45uUgCJt8
Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Northload Street
1:04 Market Place
1:53 Benedict Street
3:02 St Benedict's Church
3:19 Benedict Street
6:35 Market Place
6:52 Magdalene Street
8:51 Market Place
9:34 High Street
11:34 St John's Church
11:44 High Street
12:46 The Archers Way
13:56 High Street