tirei tantas fotos dele. mas essa é só a foto de apresentação (: depois eu coloco as outras!

 

brigada, lana, pelo presentinho lindo que ganhei no dia do teu aniversário ;D

 

Blur

 

Things are a bit busy at this end of the season. Summer has hung on, and hung on. Ramadan has been and gone; Easter is just around the corner. So too is the first frost. Now's the time for getting in the harvest and putting away the tools.

 

That rush is why all you'll get on this April Fools Day is a few harmless pranks, and this quick snapshot. These are just some of the tools headed into storage.

 

On the left is my refractomer. It's calibrated to measure the wt% of dissolved sugar. For me, it's the piece of gear that extends the discussion about apple picking time. For any apple, it's the lift test first: has the abscission zone weakened? Then are the seeds changing from white through shades of brown. I don't use the iodine test; instead, I reach for the refractomer.

 

Next to it is one of my alcohol hydrometers. I could use it to measure the sugar in apple juice too. But that requires a bigger sample and cloudiness in the juice makes the scale difficult to read. Instead of bending light, it measures the specific gravity of the liquid: apple or grape juice, beer wort, whatever. The dissolved sugar makes the Sp.Gr. higher so when it is fermented out to alcohol the Sp.Gr. is lower. That's when I reach for a hydrometer — to determine the end point of fermentation. There's nothing worse than your cider exploding!

 

Out of curiosity, I also check the pH of my apple juice. Too low and the cider will be sour — so-called pig whistle cider. There's nothing fancy about my method — universal indicator paper is good enough.

 

This year's ripening season was weirdly early. It means I lost fruit I hadn't bothered to monitor because, on paper, it was too soon. That, and the hail storms messed up the apple yield. Typically there'd be so many apples and three distinct periods of ripening that I'd rack the two earliest batches to rest, then blend them back later before adding priming sugar and maybe a boosting shot of yeast to get the bottle fermentation I mostly use. Yes, I do some dry still varietal cider, or semi-sweet. But they're a lot of bother with multiple handling steps and for semi-sweet either the notion of chemical stabilisation or pasteurisation to prevent a secondary fermentation. Mostly, I can't be bothered. This year, I don't have to worry. There was so little fruit, high pH and high sugar, all at once, that the blending happened with the scratter and press. So instead of racking, decanting, blending and all the rest, this years cider has gone straight from the fermenter to the bottles with — touch wood — enough live yeast remaining to consume the priming sugar and carbonate the cider.

 

Righto, now back to work. Jack Frost is on his way!

   

Westgold and Westpro brands

1 lb of salted pasteurised product of New Zealand

Yangfangdian, Haidian Qu, Beijing

The farm Korpúlfsstaðir is located in Reykjavík. I found that spot, with a different point of a view to the farm, without seeing surrounding buildings in the neighbourhood. The river in foreground is named Úlfarsá and is one of three salmon fishing rivers in Reykjavík. In background we can see mt. Esja.

 

According to the Kjalnesinga Saga the first settler in the area, Korpulfur, built his farm there. Later the farm became the possession of the monastery of The Videy Island until the reformation, when the Danish royalty confiscated it. The farm was sold in 1810 and became private property. In 1922 an entrepreneur by the name of Thor Jensen bought it. He cultivated large fields and built the manor with 39 rooms for the farm workers and a dining room for 70 people. He operated the largest cattle farm of the country and the cowshed was the most modern in the Nordic countries. He had 300 heads of cattle and produced 800.000 litres of milk annually.

It was pasteurised and processed in his dairy and retailed in the capital area until 1934, when the law concerning the processing of milk and milk products was introduced. This law strangled the efforts of milk producers in the capital area and soon the farm had to stop its operation. In 1943 the farm was incorporated by the capital. The municipality bought Korpulfsstadir and other farms of Mr. Jensen and farming continued there until 1970. After that the houses were used for the storage of miscellaneous things and some artists’ ateliers.

 

A fire destroyed many valuable things in 1969. In 1999 a part of the house was turned into a primary school because of the great increase of inhabitants in the area. Golfers chasing the white balls now mainly use the cultivated fields.

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. There were many Catholic families in the district as in the 1855 Yankalilla had a government “work depot” where recently arrived immigrant Irish girls could seek employment as domestic servants. Although there was never a Catholic Church in Yankalilla a Catholic Church had opened in Normanville in 1857. The Wissanger School near the current Yankalilla Area School was built 1859 as the first Yankalilla town school. The land for it was donated by Septimane Herbert and the bricks were donated by Robert Norman of Normanville. There are several important churches in Yankalilla. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879 which is now the Uniting Church. But before this existed the Wesleyan Methodists built a church at Normanville in 1854. It still exists as the RSL Club rooms and behind it is a pioneer cemetery which contains the grave of Nelson Leak who built the church in 1854. It contains a number of headstones from the 1850s all in beautifully inscribed Willunga slate prepared by monumental masons from Willunga such a George Sara the owner of the Bangor slate quarry. The church closed in 1949 as the Normanville Methodist Church and was sold to the Returned Services League in 1952. The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. Next to the church is the Anglican rectory and cemetery which has graves dating from 1854.

 

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. There were many Catholic families in the district as in the 1855 Yankalilla had a government “work depot” where recently arrived immigrant Irish girls could seek employment as domestic servants. Although there was never a Catholic Church in Yankalilla a Catholic Church had opened in Normanville in 1857. The Wissanger School near the current Yankalilla Area School was built 1859 as the first Yankalilla town school. The land for it was donated by Septimane Herbert and the bricks were donated by Robert Norman of Normanville. There are several important churches in Yankalilla. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879 which is now the Uniting Church. But before this existed the Wesleyan Methodists built a church at Normanville in 1854. It still exists as the RSL Club rooms and behind it is a pioneer cemetery which contains the grave of Nelson Leak who built the church in 1854. It contains a number of headstones from the 1850s all in beautifully inscribed Willunga slate prepared by monumental masons from Willunga such a George Sara the owner of the Bangor slate quarry. The church closed in 1949 as the Normanville Methodist Church and was sold to the Returned Services League in 1952. The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. Next to the church is the Anglican rectory and cemetery which has graves dating from 1854.

 

Excerpt from here from a now defunct blog:

 

Kirby and West's brightly painted electric milk floats are still a familiar sight around Leicester. The sound of a solid tyred float, with it's battery fuelled motor whining it's way up the street first thing in the morning is still a regular sound. Times have changed though, most folk buy their milk from the local mini-mart in plastic bottles and compared to yesterday, the milk float only stops at a small number of houses along the street; it's easier to pay the cashier in a shop using a debit card, than it is to await the milkman's Saturday morning knock on the front door and to have cash at the ready for weekly payments.

 

Kirby and West have been in business since 1861 and soon after developing into profitable dairy. In 1956, 17,000 gallons of milk were being processed daily. As late as 1980, new facilities capable of washing 24,000 bottles an hour being commissioned. In 2007 however, milk processing, bottling and carton filling was deemed unprofitable. Today the company still continues to supply dairy products and other goods to local communities and businesses.

 

One can imagine the daily hustle and bustle of the dairy business of yesteryear. Local farmers would milk the cows during the early hours and leave full churns on raised platforms outside their farms. The pickup lorry would arrive, load the churns and take them to the local rural railway station where they would be put in a steam hauled train enroute for Leicester. Pint sized bottles, after making their way around the dairy's washing plant, would be filled with cold pasteurised and sterilised milk, sealed with a top, deposited into crates and loaded onto the battery trucks. With a rattle and a chatter of bouncing bottles, the floats would make their way through the streets of the city and a milkman would chink the bottles as he brought them up the drive to place them on the doorstep. We remember the bottle tops pecked by the birds that loved to get the cream, or the cold mornings when the milk froze and pushed a tower of white ice out through the neck of the bottle. Yet for all this romantic thought, and despite feeling that it would be somewhat sad if the milk floats disappeared, we still prefer to make our dairy purchases elsewhere.

 

www.kirbyandwest.co.uk/

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset". the present Church of St John the Baptist in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

 

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.

 

The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

At the front of the tower are two large carvings, the 'Madonna with Child' and the 'Resurrection Christ' – early works of Ernst Blensdorf, carved in 1945, after his escape from the Nazis.

 

The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements. The tower rises to a height of 134½ feet (about 41 metres), and is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. During the 15th century the present tower at the western end of the church replaced an earlier central tower. The tower is said to have inspired numerous others, including the tower of Northington Parish Church in Hampshire. The tower is unusual in that it has a chiming clock, but no clock face.

 

There has been a set of bells at St John's Church since 1403. The oldest existing bell was originally made in 1612 and inscribed 'I sound to bid the sick repent in hope of life when breath is spent'. This bell was recast in 1992. The ring of six bells was augmented to a ring of eight in 1878 The largest, the tenor bell, is about 14 cwt or about 712 kg and the smallest, the treble, is about 5 cwt or 250 kg.

 

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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 a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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,[5] 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.

 

During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track, west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track, dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older.

 

Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by a wooden palisade. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay.

 

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

 

Glæstyngabyrig. When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from a Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of the village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir.

 

Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which the monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead.

 

William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda.

 

Centwine (676–685) was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey. King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis, the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086.

 

To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century.

 

Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. It was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

 

In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of the building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed, and a scheduled monument. Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building.

 

During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII, were camped at Glastonbury.

 

In 1693 Glastenbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of the settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal.

 

The Somerset town's charter of incorporation was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right.

 

By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from the new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966.

 

In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom.

 

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

 

Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in the town's floral displays.

 

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.

 

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

 

An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere.

 

Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to the Queen.

 

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain, but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well.

 

Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as a child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, "Jerusalem".

 

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.

 

The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall, Magdalene Street. The town hall was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building.

 

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough.

 

The town's retained fire station is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service. There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005.

 

There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total the same population as is mentioned above.

 

Glastonbury falls within the Wells constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Conservative, James Heappey, who replaced Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election.

 

Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos, and Lalibela, Ethiopia.

 

The walk up the Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point, 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves", i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat. The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor. The lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age.

 

The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana. 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 name Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend.

 

Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street. At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

 

Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat, ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change, while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in the UK.

 

The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern.

 

The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to the north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle.

 

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

 

Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage. As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops.

 

The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands, which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of the old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training.

 

According to the Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II.

 

The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials, by Judge Jeffreys. It now serves as a museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre.

 

The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey.

 

The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to Glastonbury Abbey, which is open to visitors. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The front of the 3-storey building is divided into 3 tiers of panels with traceried heads. Above the right of centre entrance are 3 carved panels with arms of the Abbey and Edward IV.

 

The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a museum of the social and agricultural history of Somerset, housed in buildings surrounding a 14th-century barn once belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It was used for the storage of arable produce, particularly wheat and rye, from the abbey's home farm of approximately 524 acres (2.12 km2). Threshing and winnowing would also have been carried out in the barn, which was built from local shelly limestone with thick timbers supporting the stone tiling of the roof. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.

 

The Chalice Well is a holy well at the foot of the Tor, covered by a wooden well-cover with wrought-iron decoration made in 1919. The natural spring has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 L; 30,000 US gal) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxygenated at the surface and is precipitated, providing chalybeate waters. As with the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities. The well is about 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, with two underground chambers at its bottom. It is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolised by Glastonbury Tor (however, some consider Glastonbury Tor to be a 'hugh bounteous female figure'). As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including modern Pagans. The well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.

 

Just a short distance from the Chalice Well site, across a road known as Well House Lane, can be found the "White Spring", where a temple has been created in the 21st century. Whilst the waters of the Chalice Well are touched red with iron, the water of the latter is white with calcite. Some people consider the red water of Chalice Well to have male properties, whilst the white water of White Spring has female qualities. Both springs rise from caverns underneath the Tor and it is claimed that both have healing in their flow.

 

The building now used as the White Spring Temple was originally a Victorian-built well house, erected by the local water board in 1872. Around that time, an outbreak of cholera in the area caused great concern and the natural caves were dug out, and a stone collection chamber was constructed to ensure the flow of a quality water supply. Study of the flow of water into the collection chamber has shown that the builders also tapped into other springs, besides the White Spring and judging from the high iron content of one of these springs, it appears that a small offshoot of Chalice Well finds its way under Well House Lane to emerge beside the White Spring. However, after building the reservoir, the water board soon discovered that the high calciferous content of the water caused pipes to block and by the end of the 19th century water was piped into Glastonbury from out of town. After lying derelict for many years, the water board sold off the well house, which is now maintained by a group of volunteers as a "water temple". On the outside of the building is a tap where visitors and locals can collect the water of the White Spring.

 

The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles (23 km) through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol Channel in the early 19th century, but it became uneconomic with the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

 

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box. The site is now a timber yard for a local company. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the entrance.

 

The nearest railway station is at Castle Cary but there is no direct bus route linking it to Glastonbury. There are convenient bus connections between Glastonbury and the railway stations at Bristol Temple Meads (over an hour travelling time) and at Taunton. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.

 

The main road in the town is the A39 which passes through Glastonbury from Wells connecting the town with Street and the M5 motorway. The other roads around the town are small and run across the levels generally following the drainage ditches. Local bus services are provided by Buses of Somerset (part of First), First West of England, Frome Bus & Libra Travel. The main routes are to Bristol via Wells, to Bridgwater, to Yeovil via Street and to Taunton.There is also a coach service to London Victoria provided by Berrys.

 

Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

 

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 102.4 FM, Worthy FM on 87.7 FM which broadcast during The Glastonbury Festival and GWS Radio on 107.1 FM, a community radio station.

 

The town’s local newspapers are the Mid Somerset Series, Western Daily Press, Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

 

There are several infant and primary schools in Glastonbury and the surrounding villages. Secondary education is provided by St Dunstan's School. In 2017, the school had 327 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years. It is named after St. Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD. The school was built in 1958 with major building work, at a cost of £1.2 million, in 1998, adding the science block and the sports hall. It was designated as a specialist Arts College in 2004, and the £800,000 spent at this time paid for the Performing Arts studio and facilities to support students with special educational needs. Tor School is a pupil referral unit based on Beckery New Road, which caters for 14-16-year-old students who have been excluded from mainstream education, or who have been referred for medical reasons.

 

Strode College in Street provides academic and vocational courses for those aged 16–18 and adult education. A tertiary institution and further education college, most of the courses it offers are A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides some university-level courses, and is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

 

Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in pre-Christian times. The abbey was founded by Britons, and dates to at least the early 7th century, although later medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron's version of the Holy Grail story and to Glastonbury's connection to King Arthur, which dates at least to the early 12th century. William of Malmesbury called this structure "the oldest church in England," and thenceforth it was known simply as the Old Church, inasmuch as it had existed for many years prior to the 7th century as a Celtic religious centre. In his "History of the English Church and People," written in the early eighth century, the Venerable Bede provides details regarding its construction to early missionaries. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658. King Ine of Wessex enriched the endowment of the community of monks already established at Glastonbury. He is said to have directed that a stone church be built in 712. The Abbey Church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Saint Dunstan, the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life. He instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury and built new cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel, which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186.

 

The abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved set in 36 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland. It is approached by the Abbey Gatehouse which was built in the mid-14th century and completely restored in 1810.

 

There is also a strong Irish connection to Glastonbury as it is said to be along a route of pilgrimage from Ireland to Rome. It is supposed that St. Patrick and St. Brigid both came to the area and both Saints are documented by William of Malmesbury as having done so. There are Chapels named after them too - St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury is within the Abbey grounds and St. Brigid's Chapel is at Beckery (Little Ireland).

 

The Church of St Benedict was rebuilt by Abbot Richard Beere in about 1520. This is now an Anglican church and is linked with the parishes of St John's Church in Glastonbury and St Mary's & All Saints Church in the village of Meare as a joint benefice.

 

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the current Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The church is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements and at 134½ feet (about 41 metres), is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower, possibly of Saxon origin, 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. The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

In the centuries that followed the Reformation, many religious denominations came to Glastonbury to establish chapels and meeting houses. For such a relatively small town, Glastonbury has a remarkably diverse history of Christian places of worship, further enriched by the fact that several of these movements saw break-away factions, typically setting up new meeting places as a result of doctrinal disagreements, leaving behind them a legacy which would require a highly specialized degree of study in order to chart their respective histories and places of practice. Amongst their number have been Puritans/Undetermined Protestants, Quakers, Independents, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Salvationists, Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals.

 

The United Reformed Church on the High Street was built in 1814 and altered in 1898. It stands on the site of the Ship Inn where meetings were held during the 18th century. It is Grade II listed.

 

Glastonbury Methodist Church on Lambrook Street was built in 1843 and has a galleried interior, typical of a non-conformist chapel of that period, but an unusual number of stained glass windows. Close by the front of the church is an ancient pond, which was later covered to form a brick-arched reservoir. This is mentioned in property deeds of 1821, and is still accessible, containing approximately 31,500 gallons of water.

 

The Methodist Church on Lambrook street was originally the Glastonbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built on Northload Street in 1844, with an adjoining house added for a minister in 1869. This chapel was closed in 1968, since which time it has had a number of different uses, being described in 2007 as the Maitreya Monastery, prior to which it had been the Archangel Michael Soul Therapy Centre.

 

The Bove Town Gospel Hall has been a place of worship in the town since at least 1889, when it was listed as a mission of the Plymouth Brethren. Jehovah's Witnesses originally occupied a Kingdom Hall on Archer's Way from 1942. This transferred to Church Lane in 1964, and subsequently to its present site on Old Wells Road. The Gospel Hall was registered for the solemnizing of marriages in 1964

 

The Catholic Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury was built, on land near to the Abbey, in 1939. A statue based on a 14th-century metal seal was blessed in 1955 and crowned in 1965 restoring the Marian shrine that had been in the Abbey prior to the reformation. The Shrine is now the home of the Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery founded in August 2019.

 

The Glastonbury Order of Druids was formed on Mayday 1988.

 

Sufism has been long established in Glastonbury. Zikrs are held weekly in private homes, and on the first Sunday of every month a zikr is held at St Margaret's Chapel in Magdalene Street. A Sufi charity shop was established in Glastonbury in 1999, and supports missionary work in Africa. This shop was opened after Sheikh Nazim came to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. Here he declared, "This is the spiritual heart of England ... It is from here that the spiritual new age will begin and to here that Jesus will return".

 

The pagan Glastonbury Goddess Temple was founded in 2002 and registered as a place of worship the following year. It is self-described as the first temple of its kind to exist in Europe in over a thousand years.

 

In April 2012, it was reported by The Guardian newspaper that, according to the Pilgrim Reception Centre in the town, Glastonbury had around seventy different faith groups. Some of these groups attended a special ceremony to celebrate this diversity, held in the Chalice Well Gardens on 21 April of that year.

 

The 22nd Jagannatha Ratha-yatra Krishna Festival took place in Glastonbury on Sunday 4 October 2015. Devotees of the Krishna Consciousness movement travelled to the town from London, Bath, Bristol and elsewhere to join with locals in a procession and Kirtan.

 

Glastonbury also headquarters the British Orthodox Church which is independent Oriental Orthodox denomination since 2015

 

Glastonbury has a particular significance for members of the Baháʼí Faith in that Wellesley Tudor Pole, founder of the Chalice Well Trust, was one of the earliest and most prominent adherents of this faith in the United Kingdom.

 

The local football team is Glastonbury F.C. They joined the Western Football League in 1919 and have won the Western Football League title three times in their history. The club are now playing in the Somerset County Football League.

 

Glastonbury Cricket Club previously competed in the West of England Premier League, one of the ECB Premier Leagues, the highest level of recreational cricket in England and Wales. The club plays at the Tor Leisure Ground, which used to stage Somerset County Cricket Club first-class fixtures.

 

The town is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

 

In a 1904 novel by Charles Whistler entitled A Prince of Cornwall Glastonbury in the days of Ine of Wessex is portrayed. It is also a setting in the Warlord Chronicles, a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. Modern fiction has also used Glastonbury as a setting including The Age of Misrule series of books by Mark Chadbourn in which the Watchmen appear, a group selected from Anglican priests in and around Glastonbury to safeguard knowledge of a gate to the Otherworld on top of Glastonbury Tor. John Cowper Powys's novel A Glastonbury Romance is set in Glastonbury and is concerned with the Grail. The historical mystery novel Grave Goods by Diana Norman (writing under the pen name Ariana Frankin) is set in Glastonbury just after the abbey fire and concerns the supposed graves of Arthur and Guinevere, as well as featuring other landmarks such as the Tor.

 

The Children's World charity grew out of the festival and is based in the town. It is known internationally (as Children's World International). It was set up by Arabella Churchill in 1981 to provide drama participation and creative play and to work creatively in educational settings, providing social and emotional benefits for all children, particularly those with special needs. Children's World International is the sister charity of Children's World and was started in 1999 to work with children in the Balkans, in conjunction with Balkan Sunflowers and Save the Children. They also run the Glastonbury Children's Festival each August.

 

The local Brass Band is Glastonbury Brass which is currently placed in the first section for the West of England area. The band was founded in 2017 when the old Yeovil Town Band relocated after running into financial difficulty following a "notice to quit" on its rehearsal facility in September 2016. The band is featured twice on the Haiku Salut album There Is No Elsewhere (2018) and can be heard on the tracks Cold To Crack The Stones and The More And Moreness. In February 2020, the band was involved in the launch of Johnny Mars's "Dare to Dream" project aimed at raising awareness of the effects mankind is having on the world.

 

Glastonbury is the final venue for the annual November West Country Carnival.

 

Glastonbury has been described as a New Age community where communities have grown up to include people with New Age beliefs.

 

The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926. The festivals were founded by English socialist composer Rutland Boughton and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopian principles. With strong Arthurian connections and historic and prehistoric associations, Glastonbury was chosen to host the festivals.

 

The more recent Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, founded in 1970, is now the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. Although it is named after Glastonbury, it is actually held at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town of Glastonbury. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km2), had over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. The festival has spawned a range of other work including the 1972 film Glastonbury Fayre and album, 1996 film Glastonbury the Movie and the 2005 DVD Glastonbury Anthems.

 

Glastonbury has been the birthplace or home to many notable people. Peter King, 1st Baron King was the recorder of Glastonbury in 1705. Thomas Bramwell Welch the discoverer of the pasteurisation process to prevent the fermentation of grape juice was born in Glastonbury in 1825. The judge John Creighton represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770 to 1775. The fossil collector Thomas Hawkins lived in the town during the 19th century.

 

The religious connections and mythology of the town have also attracted notable authors. The occultist and writer Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth) lived and is buried in Glastonbury. Her old house was home to the writer and historian Geoffrey Ashe, who was known for his works on local legends. Frederick Bligh Bond, archaeologist and writer. Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker, and spiritual teacher lived in Glastonbury during the 1980s. Eileen Caddy was at a sanctuary in Glastonbury when she first claimed to have heard the "voice of God" while meditating. Her subsequent instructions from the "voice" directed her to take on Sheena Govan as her spiritual teacher, and became a spiritual teacher and new age author, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community.

 

Popular entertainment and literature is also represented amongst the population. English composer Rutland Boughton moved from Birmingham to Glastonbury in 1911 and established the country's first national annual summer school of music. Gary Stringer, lead singer of rock band Reef, was a local along with other members of the band. The juggler Haggis McLeod and his late wife, Arabella Churchill, one of the founders of the Glastonbury Festival, lived in the town. The conductor Charles Hazlewood lives locally and hosts the "Play the Field" music festival on his farm nearby. Bill Bunbury moved on from Glastonbury to become a writer, radio broadcaster, and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

Athletes and sports players from Glastonbury include cricketers Cyril Baily in 1880, George Burrough in 1907, and Eustace Bisgood in 1878. The footballer Peter Spiring was born in Glastonbury in 1950. Formula 1 driver Lando Norris grew up in Glastonbury.

 

Twin towns

France Bretenoux, France

Greece Patmos, Greece

Ethiopia Lalibela, Ethiopia

 

Freedom of the Town

Michael Eavis: 3 May 2022. The founder of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival has been made a Freeman of Glastonbury. Born in 1935, the celebrated dairy farmer held his first Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1970. 52 years later, Mr. Eavis has been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

 

The Key of Avalon

This award was created in 2022 by the Glastonbury Town Council. The first recipient was Prem Rawat, international peace advocate and author, who spoke at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.

 

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

 

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset.

 

The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland, and the north-east and west of the county are hilly. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds AONB, all of the Mendip Hills AONB, and a small part of Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB; the west contains the Quantock Hills AONB, a majority of Exmoor National Park, and part of the Blackdown Hills AONB. The main rivers in the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.

 

There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals.

 

Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.

 

Following the Roman Empire's invasion of southern Britain, the mining of lead and silver in the Mendip Hills provided a basis for local industry and commerce. Bath became the site of a major Roman fort and city, the remains of which can still be seen. During the Early Medieval period Somerset was the scene of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and first the Britons and later the Danes. In this period it was ruled first by various kings of Wessex, and later by kings of England. Following the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy by the Normans in 1066, castles were built in Somerset.

 

Expansion of the population and settlements in the county continued during the Tudor and more recent periods. Agriculture and coal mining expanded until the 18th century, although other industries declined during the industrial revolution. In modern times the population has grown, particularly in the seaside towns, notably Weston-super-Mare. Agriculture continues to be a major business, if no longer a major employer because of mechanisation. Light industries are based in towns such as Bridgwater and Yeovil. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet manufacture cider, although the acreage of apple orchards is less than it once was.

 

The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods saw hunter-gatherers move into the region of Somerset. There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the area from around 500,000 years ago. There is still some doubt about whether the artefacts are of human origin but they have been dated within Oxygen Isotope Stage 13 (524,000 – 478,000 BP). Other experts suggest that "many of the bone-rich Middle Pleistocene deposits belong to a single but climatically variable interglacial that succeeded the Cromerian, perhaps about 500,000 years ago. Detailed analysis of the origin and modification of the flint artefacts leads to the conclusion that the assemblage was probably a product of geomorphological processes rather than human work, but a single cut-marked bone suggests a human presence." Animal bones and artefacts unearthed in the 1980s at Westbury-sub-Mendip, in Somerset, have shown evidence of early human activity approximately 700,000 years ago.

 

Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man, came to Somerset during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of occupation of four Mendip caves 35,000 to 30,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, it is probable that Somerset was deserted as the area experienced tundra conditions. Evidence was found in Gough's Cave of deposits of human bone dating from around 12,500 years ago. The bones were defleshed and probably ritually buried though perhaps related to cannibalism being practised in the area at the time or making skull cups or storage containers. Somerset was one of the first areas of future England settled following the end of Younger Dryas phase of the last ice age c. 8000 BC. Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge. He is Britain's oldest complete human skeleton. The remains date from about 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. Somerset is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from about 6000 BCE; Mesolithic artefacts have been found in more than 70 locations. Mendip caves were used as burial places, with between 50 and 100 skeletons being found in Aveline's Hole. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BCE, there is evidence of farming.

 

At the end of the last ice age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but later the sea level rose, particularly between 1220 and 900 BC and between 800 and 470 BCE, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels became flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The county has prehistoric burial mounds (such as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow), stone rows (such as the circles at Stanton Drew and Priddy) and settlement sites. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has come both from the upland areas, such as in Mendip caves, and from the low land areas such as the Somerset Levels. Dry points in the latter such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement with wooden trackways between them. There were also "lake villages" in the marsh such as those at Glastonbury Lake Village and Meare. One of the oldest dated human road work in Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BC, partially on the route of the even earlier Post Track.

 

There is evidence of Exmoor's human occupation from Mesolithic times onwards. In the Neolithic period people started to manage animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act purely as hunter gatherers. It is also likely that extraction and smelting of mineral ores to make tools, weapons, containers and ornaments in bronze and then iron started in the late Neolithic and into the Bronze and Iron Ages.

 

The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle, Worlebury Camp and Ham Hill. The age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but is believed to be from the Neolithic period. There is evidence of mining on the Mendip Hills back into the late Bronze Age when there were technological changes in metal working indicated by the use of lead. There are numerous "hill forts", such as Small Down Knoll, Solsbury Hill, Dolebury Warren and Burledge Hill, which seem to have had domestic purposes, not just a defensive role. They generally seem to have been occupied intermittently from the Bronze Age onward, some, such as Cadbury Camp at South Cadbury, being refurbished during different eras. Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber at Williton which is composed of three round barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow.

 

The Iron Age tribes of later Somerset were the Dobunni in north Somerset, Durotriges in south Somerset and Dumnonii in west Somerset. The first and second produced coins, the finds of which allows their tribal areas to be suggested, but the latter did not. All three had a Celtic culture and language. However, Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills, include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring, Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp.

 

Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from 47 AD to about 409 AD. However, the end was not abrupt and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century.

 

Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor Vespasian. The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of 60–61 AD. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 AD.

 

The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the potential of the Mendip Hills. A great deal of the attraction of the lead mines may have been the potential for the extraction of silver.

 

Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester. The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning ditch). The Fosse Way ran through Bath, Shepton Mallet, Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster. The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Small towns and trading ports were set up, such as Camerton and Combwich. The larger towns decayed in the latter part of the period, though the smaller ones app

A morning walk was diverted by yet another flood event; the creek was up — a lot. Hoping to solve a plant problem my Plan B was initiated. I hadn't expected to see snow flurries over the mountains as I searched for, then failed to source, a poblano chili seedling. It'll be too cool this season for capsicums. Poblano chilies aren't so picky. Who knew it was spring? This elder, apparently.

 

Elders have grown here since before my time. That's just as well. When I moved in there was a witch living opposite. I planted a rowan, just in case. Once she left, another arrived next door to her. More of a kindly witch, that one bequeathed some of the roses and an iris still battling along in my garden. Even now there's still one away over the back. I feel more at ease with elders, a rowan and a venerable old holly tree to make them think twice about over-flying my garden.

 

Beyond the obvious, witch frustration, the elder is simply magical. Yes, the berries are a touch toxic, as are the leaves. This doesn't stop the flowers yielding a delicious cordial. Don't be kidded into thinking it won't keep. Capped down in small bottles and pasteurised in a water bath kept hot enough, but not too hot it will last on the shelf for ages. I'm less impressed with the so called elderflower "champagne", something of a coarse brew meant for intoxication. I've never wanted to pickle the buds and the ripe berries added to jam are interesting despite the seeds being a bit large, hard and annoying. Worth a try is the Swedish method of salting and pickling of green elderberries as a alternative to capers. No they don't taste the same, after all, they are elderberries, not capers. Will I make some more this season? Well, that depends on the weather.

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared with that alternate spelling when surveying began and the Hundred was named in 1871. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school opening, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in the 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was added in 1883 to the design of Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built immediately. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

Iveco 440 WU70VRP Unloading eggs, reloading liquid pasteurised egg @Bumble_Hole

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. There were many Catholic families in the district as in the 1855 Yankalilla had a government “work depot” where recently arrived immigrant Irish girls could seek employment as domestic servants. Although there was never a Catholic Church in Yankalilla a Catholic Church had opened in Normanville in 1857. The Wissanger School near the current Yankalilla Area School was built 1859 as the first Yankalilla town school. The land for it was donated by Septimane Herbert and the bricks were donated by Robert Norman of Normanville. There are several important churches in Yankalilla. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879 which is now the Uniting Church. But before this existed the Wesleyan Methodists built a church at Normanville in 1854. It still exists as the RSL Club rooms and behind it is a pioneer cemetery which contains the grave of Nelson Leak who built the church in 1854. It contains a number of headstones from the 1850s all in beautifully inscribed Willunga slate prepared by monumental masons from Willunga such a George Sara the owner of the Bangor slate quarry. The church closed in 1949 as the Normanville Methodist Church and was sold to the Returned Services League in 1952. The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. Next to the church is the Anglican rectory and cemetery which has graves dating from 1854.

 

Laura.

The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the school opening in 1873, the Wesleyan Church in 1873 and the brewery in 1876. A butter factory opened in 1898. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now a museum), the old post office and police station and the school. The town’s claim to fame is that the poet C.J Dennis was born in Laura in 1876 but he lived in many SA towns before he left for Victoria. The old brewery was sited on the banks of the Rocky River as a reliable water supply was necessary for successful breweries. It was built with its high tower in 1873 and finally closed for business in 1894 just as the development of pasteurisation of beer was closing country breweries and centralising all beer production in Adelaide. Not far away in the hills of the Southern Flinders Ranges is Beetaloo Reservoir which was constructed between 1888 and 1890 to provide fresh water for the copper triangle towns of Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo. The reservoir was been increased in capacity in 1927 and again in 1979. The town also had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the foundries at Gawler and operated into the 1930s with the addition of chaff mills and finally closed in the 1970s. Best Laura Flour was a brand well known in SA and in Broken Hill. During World War Two Laura had a flax mill to produce canvas. Crops of flax were grown from Wirrabara to Laura. It closed in 1947. As early as 1891 Laura had a dairy factory to process milk and make butter, some of which was railed to Broken Hill.

 

Laura has been home to Golden North ice cream since 1923. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business, and they have since expanded production, including the famous honey ice cream. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006.

 

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared with that alternate spelling when surveying began and the Hundred was named in 1871. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school opening, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in the 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was added in 1883 to the design of Port Pirie architect William Mallyon.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built immediately. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

Sainte Maure is one of the classic cheeses from France.

While it is made from raw or pasteurised milk of goat, it is produced mainly in Loire Valley in middle France. This buttery and smooth cheese with little acidic flavour emerges drier, denser and with a fine grey-blue edible rind.

   

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset". the present Church of St John the Baptist in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

 

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.

 

The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

At the front of the tower are two large carvings, the 'Madonna with Child' and the 'Resurrection Christ' – early works of Ernst Blensdorf, carved in 1945, after his escape from the Nazis.

 

The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements. The tower rises to a height of 134½ feet (about 41 metres), and is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. During the 15th century the present tower at the western end of the church replaced an earlier central tower. The tower is said to have inspired numerous others, including the tower of Northington Parish Church in Hampshire. The tower is unusual in that it has a chiming clock, but no clock face.

 

There has been a set of bells at St John's Church since 1403. The oldest existing bell was originally made in 1612 and inscribed 'I sound to bid the sick repent in hope of life when breath is spent'. This bell was recast in 1992. The ring of six bells was augmented to a ring of eight in 1878 The largest, the tenor bell, is about 14 cwt or about 712 kg and the smallest, the treble, is about 5 cwt or 250 kg.

 

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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 a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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,[5] 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.

 

During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track, west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track, dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older.

 

Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by a wooden palisade. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay.

 

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

 

Glæstyngabyrig. When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from a Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of the village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir.

 

Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which the monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead.

 

William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda.

 

Centwine (676–685) was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey. King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis, the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086.

 

To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century.

 

Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. It was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

 

In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of the building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed, and a scheduled monument. Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building.

 

During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII, were camped at Glastonbury.

 

In 1693 Glastenbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of the settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal.

 

The Somerset town's charter of incorporation was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right.

 

By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from the new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966.

 

In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom.

 

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

 

Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in the town's floral displays.

 

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.

 

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

 

An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere.

 

Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to the Queen.

 

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain, but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well.

 

Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as a child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, "Jerusalem".

 

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.

 

The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall, Magdalene Street. The town hall was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building.

 

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough.

 

The town's retained fire station is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service. There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005.

 

There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total the same population as is mentioned above.

 

Glastonbury falls within the Wells constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Conservative, James Heappey, who replaced Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election.

 

Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos, and Lalibela, Ethiopia.

 

The walk up the Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point, 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves", i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat. The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor. The lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age.

 

The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana. 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 name Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend.

 

Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street. At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

 

Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat, ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change, while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in the UK.

 

The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern.

 

The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to the north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle.

 

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

 

Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage. As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops.

 

The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands, which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of the old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training.

 

According to the Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II.

 

The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials, by Judge Jeffreys. It now serves as a museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre.

 

The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey.

 

The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to Glastonbury Abbey, which is open to visitors. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The front of the 3-storey building is divided into 3 tiers of panels with traceried heads. Above the right of centre entrance are 3 carved panels with arms of the Abbey and Edward IV.

 

The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a museum of the social and agricultural history of Somerset, housed in buildings surrounding a 14th-century barn once belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It was used for the storage of arable produce, particularly wheat and rye, from the abbey's home farm of approximately 524 acres (2.12 km2). Threshing and winnowing would also have been carried out in the barn, which was built from local shelly limestone with thick timbers supporting the stone tiling of the roof. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.

 

The Chalice Well is a holy well at the foot of the Tor, covered by a wooden well-cover with wrought-iron decoration made in 1919. The natural spring has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 L; 30,000 US gal) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxygenated at the surface and is precipitated, providing chalybeate waters. As with the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities. The well is about 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, with two underground chambers at its bottom. It is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolised by Glastonbury Tor (however, some consider Glastonbury Tor to be a 'hugh bounteous female figure'). As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including modern Pagans. The well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.

 

Just a short distance from the Chalice Well site, across a road known as Well House Lane, can be found the "White Spring", where a temple has been created in the 21st century. Whilst the waters of the Chalice Well are touched red with iron, the water of the latter is white with calcite. Some people consider the red water of Chalice Well to have male properties, whilst the white water of White Spring has female qualities. Both springs rise from caverns underneath the Tor and it is claimed that both have healing in their flow.

 

The building now used as the White Spring Temple was originally a Victorian-built well house, erected by the local water board in 1872. Around that time, an outbreak of cholera in the area caused great concern and the natural caves were dug out, and a stone collection chamber was constructed to ensure the flow of a quality water supply. Study of the flow of water into the collection chamber has shown that the builders also tapped into other springs, besides the White Spring and judging from the high iron content of one of these springs, it appears that a small offshoot of Chalice Well finds its way under Well House Lane to emerge beside the White Spring. However, after building the reservoir, the water board soon discovered that the high calciferous content of the water caused pipes to block and by the end of the 19th century water was piped into Glastonbury from out of town. After lying derelict for many years, the water board sold off the well house, which is now maintained by a group of volunteers as a "water temple". On the outside of the building is a tap where visitors and locals can collect the water of the White Spring.

 

The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles (23 km) through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol Channel in the early 19th century, but it became uneconomic with the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

 

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box. The site is now a timber yard for a local company. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the entrance.

 

The nearest railway station is at Castle Cary but there is no direct bus route linking it to Glastonbury. There are convenient bus connections between Glastonbury and the railway stations at Bristol Temple Meads (over an hour travelling time) and at Taunton. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.

 

The main road in the town is the A39 which passes through Glastonbury from Wells connecting the town with Street and the M5 motorway. The other roads around the town are small and run across the levels generally following the drainage ditches. Local bus services are provided by Buses of Somerset (part of First), First West of England, Frome Bus & Libra Travel. The main routes are to Bristol via Wells, to Bridgwater, to Yeovil via Street and to Taunton.There is also a coach service to London Victoria provided by Berrys.

 

Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

 

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 102.4 FM, Worthy FM on 87.7 FM which broadcast during The Glastonbury Festival and GWS Radio on 107.1 FM, a community radio station.

 

The town’s local newspapers are the Mid Somerset Series, Western Daily Press, Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

 

There are several infant and primary schools in Glastonbury and the surrounding villages. Secondary education is provided by St Dunstan's School. In 2017, the school had 327 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years. It is named after St. Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD. The school was built in 1958 with major building work, at a cost of £1.2 million, in 1998, adding the science block and the sports hall. It was designated as a specialist Arts College in 2004, and the £800,000 spent at this time paid for the Performing Arts studio and facilities to support students with special educational needs. Tor School is a pupil referral unit based on Beckery New Road, which caters for 14-16-year-old students who have been excluded from mainstream education, or who have been referred for medical reasons.

 

Strode College in Street provides academic and vocational courses for those aged 16–18 and adult education. A tertiary institution and further education college, most of the courses it offers are A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides some university-level courses, and is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

 

Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in pre-Christian times. The abbey was founded by Britons, and dates to at least the early 7th century, although later medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron's version of the Holy Grail story and to Glastonbury's connection to King Arthur, which dates at least to the early 12th century. William of Malmesbury called this structure "the oldest church in England," and thenceforth it was known simply as the Old Church, inasmuch as it had existed for many years prior to the 7th century as a Celtic religious centre. In his "History of the English Church and People," written in the early eighth century, the Venerable Bede provides details regarding its construction to early missionaries. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658. King Ine of Wessex enriched the endowment of the community of monks already established at Glastonbury. He is said to have directed that a stone church be built in 712. The Abbey Church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Saint Dunstan, the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life. He instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury and built new cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel, which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186.

 

The abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved set in 36 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland. It is approached by the Abbey Gatehouse which was built in the mid-14th century and completely restored in 1810.

 

There is also a strong Irish connection to Glastonbury as it is said to be along a route of pilgrimage from Ireland to Rome. It is supposed that St. Patrick and St. Brigid both came to the area and both Saints are documented by William of Malmesbury as having done so. There are Chapels named after them too - St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury is within the Abbey grounds and St. Brigid's Chapel is at Beckery (Little Ireland).

 

The Church of St Benedict was rebuilt by Abbot Richard Beere in about 1520. This is now an Anglican church and is linked with the parishes of St John's Church in Glastonbury and St Mary's & All Saints Church in the village of Meare as a joint benefice.

 

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the current Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The church is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements and at 134½ feet (about 41 metres), is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower, possibly of Saxon origin, 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. The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

In the centuries that followed the Reformation, many religious denominations came to Glastonbury to establish chapels and meeting houses. For such a relatively small town, Glastonbury has a remarkably diverse history of Christian places of worship, further enriched by the fact that several of these movements saw break-away factions, typically setting up new meeting places as a result of doctrinal disagreements, leaving behind them a legacy which would require a highly specialized degree of study in order to chart their respective histories and places of practice. Amongst their number have been Puritans/Undetermined Protestants, Quakers, Independents, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Salvationists, Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals.

 

The United Reformed Church on the High Street was built in 1814 and altered in 1898. It stands on the site of the Ship Inn where meetings were held during the 18th century. It is Grade II listed.

 

Glastonbury Methodist Church on Lambrook Street was built in 1843 and has a galleried interior, typical of a non-conformist chapel of that period, but an unusual number of stained glass windows. Close by the front of the church is an ancient pond, which was later covered to form a brick-arched reservoir. This is mentioned in property deeds of 1821, and is still accessible, containing approximately 31,500 gallons of water.

 

The Methodist Church on Lambrook street was originally the Glastonbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built on Northload Street in 1844, with an adjoining house added for a minister in 1869. This chapel was closed in 1968, since which time it has had a number of different uses, being described in 2007 as the Maitreya Monastery, prior to which it had been the Archangel Michael Soul Therapy Centre.

 

The Bove Town Gospel Hall has been a place of worship in the town since at least 1889, when it was listed as a mission of the Plymouth Brethren. Jehovah's Witnesses originally occupied a Kingdom Hall on Archer's Way from 1942. This transferred to Church Lane in 1964, and subsequently to its present site on Old Wells Road. The Gospel Hall was registered for the solemnizing of marriages in 1964

 

The Catholic Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury was built, on land near to the Abbey, in 1939. A statue based on a 14th-century metal seal was blessed in 1955 and crowned in 1965 restoring the Marian shrine that had been in the Abbey prior to the reformation. The Shrine is now the home of the Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery founded in August 2019.

 

The Glastonbury Order of Druids was formed on Mayday 1988.

 

Sufism has been long established in Glastonbury. Zikrs are held weekly in private homes, and on the first Sunday of every month a zikr is held at St Margaret's Chapel in Magdalene Street. A Sufi charity shop was established in Glastonbury in 1999, and supports missionary work in Africa. This shop was opened after Sheikh Nazim came to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. Here he declared, "This is the spiritual heart of England ... It is from here that the spiritual new age will begin and to here that Jesus will return".

 

The pagan Glastonbury Goddess Temple was founded in 2002 and registered as a place of worship the following year. It is self-described as the first temple of its kind to exist in Europe in over a thousand years.

 

In April 2012, it was reported by The Guardian newspaper that, according to the Pilgrim Reception Centre in the town, Glastonbury had around seventy different faith groups. Some of these groups attended a special ceremony to celebrate this diversity, held in the Chalice Well Gardens on 21 April of that year.

 

The 22nd Jagannatha Ratha-yatra Krishna Festival took place in Glastonbury on Sunday 4 October 2015. Devotees of the Krishna Consciousness movement travelled to the town from London, Bath, Bristol and elsewhere to join with locals in a procession and Kirtan.

 

Glastonbury also headquarters the British Orthodox Church which is independent Oriental Orthodox denomination since 2015

 

Glastonbury has a particular significance for members of the Baháʼí Faith in that Wellesley Tudor Pole, founder of the Chalice Well Trust, was one of the earliest and most prominent adherents of this faith in the United Kingdom.

 

The local football team is Glastonbury F.C. They joined the Western Football League in 1919 and have won the Western Football League title three times in their history. The club are now playing in the Somerset County Football League.

 

Glastonbury Cricket Club previously competed in the West of England Premier League, one of the ECB Premier Leagues, the highest level of recreational cricket in England and Wales. The club plays at the Tor Leisure Ground, which used to stage Somerset County Cricket Club first-class fixtures.

 

The town is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

 

In a 1904 novel by Charles Whistler entitled A Prince of Cornwall Glastonbury in the days of Ine of Wessex is portrayed. It is also a setting in the Warlord Chronicles, a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. Modern fiction has also used Glastonbury as a setting including The Age of Misrule series of books by Mark Chadbourn in which the Watchmen appear, a group selected from Anglican priests in and around Glastonbury to safeguard knowledge of a gate to the Otherworld on top of Glastonbury Tor. John Cowper Powys's novel A Glastonbury Romance is set in Glastonbury and is concerned with the Grail. The historical mystery novel Grave Goods by Diana Norman (writing under the pen name Ariana Frankin) is set in Glastonbury just after the abbey fire and concerns the supposed graves of Arthur and Guinevere, as well as featuring other landmarks such as the Tor.

 

The Children's World charity grew out of the festival and is based in the town. It is known internationally (as Children's World International). It was set up by Arabella Churchill in 1981 to provide drama participation and creative play and to work creatively in educational settings, providing social and emotional benefits for all children, particularly those with special needs. Children's World International is the sister charity of Children's World and was started in 1999 to work with children in the Balkans, in conjunction with Balkan Sunflowers and Save the Children. They also run the Glastonbury Children's Festival each August.

 

The local Brass Band is Glastonbury Brass which is currently placed in the first section for the West of England area. The band was founded in 2017 when the old Yeovil Town Band relocated after running into financial difficulty following a "notice to quit" on its rehearsal facility in September 2016. The band is featured twice on the Haiku Salut album There Is No Elsewhere (2018) and can be heard on the tracks Cold To Crack The Stones and The More And Moreness. In February 2020, the band was involved in the launch of Johnny Mars's "Dare to Dream" project aimed at raising awareness of the effects mankind is having on the world.

 

Glastonbury is the final venue for the annual November West Country Carnival.

 

Glastonbury has been described as a New Age community where communities have grown up to include people with New Age beliefs.

 

The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926. The festivals were founded by English socialist composer Rutland Boughton and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopian principles. With strong Arthurian connections and historic and prehistoric associations, Glastonbury was chosen to host the festivals.

 

The more recent Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, founded in 1970, is now the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. Although it is named after Glastonbury, it is actually held at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town of Glastonbury. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km2), had over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. The festival has spawned a range of other work including the 1972 film Glastonbury Fayre and album, 1996 film Glastonbury the Movie and the 2005 DVD Glastonbury Anthems.

 

Glastonbury has been the birthplace or home to many notable people. Peter King, 1st Baron King was the recorder of Glastonbury in 1705. Thomas Bramwell Welch the discoverer of the pasteurisation process to prevent the fermentation of grape juice was born in Glastonbury in 1825. The judge John Creighton represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770 to 1775. The fossil collector Thomas Hawkins lived in the town during the 19th century.

 

The religious connections and mythology of the town have also attracted notable authors. The occultist and writer Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth) lived and is buried in Glastonbury. Her old house was home to the writer and historian Geoffrey Ashe, who was known for his works on local legends. Frederick Bligh Bond, archaeologist and writer. Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker, and spiritual teacher lived in Glastonbury during the 1980s. Eileen Caddy was at a sanctuary in Glastonbury when she first claimed to have heard the "voice of God" while meditating. Her subsequent instructions from the "voice" directed her to take on Sheena Govan as her spiritual teacher, and became a spiritual teacher and new age author, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community.

 

Popular entertainment and literature is also represented amongst the population. English composer Rutland Boughton moved from Birmingham to Glastonbury in 1911 and established the country's first national annual summer school of music. Gary Stringer, lead singer of rock band Reef, was a local along with other members of the band. The juggler Haggis McLeod and his late wife, Arabella Churchill, one of the founders of the Glastonbury Festival, lived in the town. The conductor Charles Hazlewood lives locally and hosts the "Play the Field" music festival on his farm nearby. Bill Bunbury moved on from Glastonbury to become a writer, radio broadcaster, and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

Athletes and sports players from Glastonbury include cricketers Cyril Baily in 1880, George Burrough in 1907, and Eustace Bisgood in 1878. The footballer Peter Spiring was born in Glastonbury in 1950. Formula 1 driver Lando Norris grew up in Glastonbury.

 

Twin towns

France Bretenoux, France

Greece Patmos, Greece

Ethiopia Lalibela, Ethiopia

 

Freedom of the Town

Michael Eavis: 3 May 2022. The founder of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival has been made a Freeman of Glastonbury. Born in 1935, the celebrated dairy farmer held his first Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1970. 52 years later, Mr. Eavis has been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

 

The Key of Avalon

This award was created in 2022 by the Glastonbury Town Council. The first recipient was Prem Rawat, international peace advocate and author, who spoke at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.

 

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

 

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset.

 

The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland, and the north-east and west of the county are hilly. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds AONB, all of the Mendip Hills AONB, and a small part of Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB; the west contains the Quantock Hills AONB, a majority of Exmoor National Park, and part of the Blackdown Hills AONB. The main rivers in the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.

 

There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals.

 

Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.

 

Following the Roman Empire's invasion of southern Britain, the mining of lead and silver in the Mendip Hills provided a basis for local industry and commerce. Bath became the site of a major Roman fort and city, the remains of which can still be seen. During the Early Medieval period Somerset was the scene of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and first the Britons and later the Danes. In this period it was ruled first by various kings of Wessex, and later by kings of England. Following the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy by the Normans in 1066, castles were built in Somerset.

 

Expansion of the population and settlements in the county continued during the Tudor and more recent periods. Agriculture and coal mining expanded until the 18th century, although other industries declined during the industrial revolution. In modern times the population has grown, particularly in the seaside towns, notably Weston-super-Mare. Agriculture continues to be a major business, if no longer a major employer because of mechanisation. Light industries are based in towns such as Bridgwater and Yeovil. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet manufacture cider, although the acreage of apple orchards is less than it once was.

 

The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods saw hunter-gatherers move into the region of Somerset. There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the area from around 500,000 years ago. There is still some doubt about whether the artefacts are of human origin but they have been dated within Oxygen Isotope Stage 13 (524,000 – 478,000 BP). Other experts suggest that "many of the bone-rich Middle Pleistocene deposits belong to a single but climatically variable interglacial that succeeded the Cromerian, perhaps about 500,000 years ago. Detailed analysis of the origin and modification of the flint artefacts leads to the conclusion that the assemblage was probably a product of geomorphological processes rather than human work, but a single cut-marked bone suggests a human presence." Animal bones and artefacts unearthed in the 1980s at Westbury-sub-Mendip, in Somerset, have shown evidence of early human activity approximately 700,000 years ago.

 

Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man, came to Somerset during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of occupation of four Mendip caves 35,000 to 30,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, it is probable that Somerset was deserted as the area experienced tundra conditions. Evidence was found in Gough's Cave of deposits of human bone dating from around 12,500 years ago. The bones were defleshed and probably ritually buried though perhaps related to cannibalism being practised in the area at the time or making skull cups or storage containers. Somerset was one of the first areas of future England settled following the end of Younger Dryas phase of the last ice age c. 8000 BC. Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge. He is Britain's oldest complete human skeleton. The remains date from about 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. Somerset is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from about 6000 BCE; Mesolithic artefacts have been found in more than 70 locations. Mendip caves were used as burial places, with between 50 and 100 skeletons being found in Aveline's Hole. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BCE, there is evidence of farming.

 

At the end of the last ice age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but later the sea level rose, particularly between 1220 and 900 BC and between 800 and 470 BCE, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels became flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The county has prehistoric burial mounds (such as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow), stone rows (such as the circles at Stanton Drew and Priddy) and settlement sites. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has come both from the upland areas, such as in Mendip caves, and from the low land areas such as the Somerset Levels. Dry points in the latter such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement with wooden trackways between them. There were also "lake villages" in the marsh such as those at Glastonbury Lake Village and Meare. One of the oldest dated human road work in Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BC, partially on the route of the even earlier Post Track.

 

There is evidence of Exmoor's human occupation from Mesolithic times onwards. In the Neolithic period people started to manage animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act purely as hunter gatherers. It is also likely that extraction and smelting of mineral ores to make tools, weapons, containers and ornaments in bronze and then iron started in the late Neolithic and into the Bronze and Iron Ages.

 

The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle, Worlebury Camp and Ham Hill. The age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but is believed to be from the Neolithic period. There is evidence of mining on the Mendip Hills back into the late Bronze Age when there were technological changes in metal working indicated by the use of lead. There are numerous "hill forts", such as Small Down Knoll, Solsbury Hill, Dolebury Warren and Burledge Hill, which seem to have had domestic purposes, not just a defensive role. They generally seem to have been occupied intermittently from the Bronze Age onward, some, such as Cadbury Camp at South Cadbury, being refurbished during different eras. Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber at Williton which is composed of three round barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow.

 

The Iron Age tribes of later Somerset were the Dobunni in north Somerset, Durotriges in south Somerset and Dumnonii in west Somerset. The first and second produced coins, the finds of which allows their tribal areas to be suggested, but the latter did not. All three had a Celtic culture and language. However, Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills, include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring, Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp.

 

Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from 47 AD to about 409 AD. However, the end was not abrupt and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century.

 

Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor Vespasian. The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of 60–61 AD. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 AD.

 

The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the potential of the Mendip Hills. A great deal of the attraction of the lead mines may have been the potential for the extraction of silver.

 

Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester. The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning ditch). The Fosse Way ran through Bath, Shepton Mallet, Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster. The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Small towns and trading ports were set up, such as Camerton and Combwich. The larger towns decayed in the latter part of the period, though the smaller ones app

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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 a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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,[5] 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.

 

During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track, west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track, dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older.

 

Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by a wooden palisade. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay.

 

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

 

Glæstyngabyrig. When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from a Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of the village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir.

 

Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which the monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead.

 

William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda.

 

Centwine (676–685) was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey. King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis, the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086.

 

To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century.

 

Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. It was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

 

In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of the building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed, and a scheduled monument. Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building.

 

During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII, were camped at Glastonbury.

 

In 1693 Glastenbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of the settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal.

 

The Somerset town's charter of incorporation was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right.

 

By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from the new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966.

 

In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom.

 

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

 

Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in the town's floral displays.

 

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.

 

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

 

An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere.

 

Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to the Queen.

 

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain, but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well.

 

Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as a child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, "Jerusalem".

 

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.

 

The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall, Magdalene Street. The town hall was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building.

 

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough.

 

The town's retained fire station is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service. There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005.

 

There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total the same population as is mentioned above.

 

Glastonbury falls within the Wells constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Conservative, James Heappey, who replaced Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election.

 

Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos, and Lalibela, Ethiopia.

 

The walk up the Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point, 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves", i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat. The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor. The lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age.

 

The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana. 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 name Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend.

 

Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street. At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

 

Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat, ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change, while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in the UK.

 

The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern.

 

The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to the north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle.

 

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

 

Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage. As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops.

 

The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands, which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of the old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training.

 

According to the Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II.

 

The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials, by Judge Jeffreys. It now serves as a museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre.

 

The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey.

 

The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to Glastonbury Abbey, which is open to visitors. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The front of the 3-storey building is divided into 3 tiers of panels with traceried heads. Above the right of centre entrance are 3 carved panels with arms of the Abbey and Edward IV.

 

The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a museum of the social and agricultural history of Somerset, housed in buildings surrounding a 14th-century barn once belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It was used for the storage of arable produce, particularly wheat and rye, from the abbey's home farm of approximately 524 acres (2.12 km2). Threshing and winnowing would also have been carried out in the barn, which was built from local shelly limestone with thick timbers supporting the stone tiling of the roof. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.

 

The Chalice Well is a holy well at the foot of the Tor, covered by a wooden well-cover with wrought-iron decoration made in 1919. The natural spring has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 L; 30,000 US gal) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxygenated at the surface and is precipitated, providing chalybeate waters. As with the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities. The well is about 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, with two underground chambers at its bottom. It is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolised by Glastonbury Tor (however, some consider Glastonbury Tor to be a 'hugh bounteous female figure'). As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including modern Pagans. The well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.

 

Just a short distance from the Chalice Well site, across a road known as Well House Lane, can be found the "White Spring", where a temple has been created in the 21st century. Whilst the waters of the Chalice Well are touched red with iron, the water of the latter is white with calcite. Some people consider the red water of Chalice Well to have male properties, whilst the white water of White Spring has female qualities. Both springs rise from caverns underneath the Tor and it is claimed that both have healing in their flow.

 

The building now used as the White Spring Temple was originally a Victorian-built well house, erected by the local water board in 1872. Around that time, an outbreak of cholera in the area caused great concern and the natural caves were dug out, and a stone collection chamber was constructed to ensure the flow of a quality water supply. Study of the flow of water into the collection chamber has shown that the builders also tapped into other springs, besides the White Spring and judging from the high iron content of one of these springs, it appears that a small offshoot of Chalice Well finds its way under Well House Lane to emerge beside the White Spring. However, after building the reservoir, the water board soon discovered that the high calciferous content of the water caused pipes to block and by the end of the 19th century water was piped into Glastonbury from out of town. After lying derelict for many years, the water board sold off the well house, which is now maintained by a group of volunteers as a "water temple". On the outside of the building is a tap where visitors and locals can collect the water of the White Spring.

 

The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles (23 km) through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol Channel in the early 19th century, but it became uneconomic with the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

 

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box. The site is now a timber yard for a local company. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the entrance.

 

The nearest railway station is at Castle Cary but there is no direct bus route linking it to Glastonbury. There are convenient bus connections between Glastonbury and the railway stations at Bristol Temple Meads (over an hour travelling time) and at Taunton. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.

 

The main road in the town is the A39 which passes through Glastonbury from Wells connecting the town with Street and the M5 motorway. The other roads around the town are small and run across the levels generally following the drainage ditches. Local bus services are provided by Buses of Somerset (part of First), First West of England, Frome Bus & Libra Travel. The main routes are to Bristol via Wells, to Bridgwater, to Yeovil via Street and to Taunton.There is also a coach service to London Victoria provided by Berrys.

 

Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

 

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 102.4 FM, Worthy FM on 87.7 FM which broadcast during The Glastonbury Festival and GWS Radio on 107.1 FM, a community radio station.

 

The town’s local newspapers are the Mid Somerset Series, Western Daily Press, Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

 

There are several infant and primary schools in Glastonbury and the surrounding villages. Secondary education is provided by St Dunstan's School. In 2017, the school had 327 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years. It is named after St. Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD. The school was built in 1958 with major building work, at a cost of £1.2 million, in 1998, adding the science block and the sports hall. It was designated as a specialist Arts College in 2004, and the £800,000 spent at this time paid for the Performing Arts studio and facilities to support students with special educational needs. Tor School is a pupil referral unit based on Beckery New Road, which caters for 14-16-year-old students who have been excluded from mainstream education, or who have been referred for medical reasons.

 

Strode College in Street provides academic and vocational courses for those aged 16–18 and adult education. A tertiary institution and further education college, most of the courses it offers are A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides some university-level courses, and is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

 

Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in pre-Christian times. The abbey was founded by Britons, and dates to at least the early 7th century, although later medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron's version of the Holy Grail story and to Glastonbury's connection to King Arthur, which dates at least to the early 12th century. William of Malmesbury called this structure "the oldest church in England," and thenceforth it was known simply as the Old Church, inasmuch as it had existed for many years prior to the 7th century as a Celtic religious centre. In his "History of the English Church and People," written in the early eighth century, the Venerable Bede provides details regarding its construction to early missionaries. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658. King Ine of Wessex enriched the endowment of the community of monks already established at Glastonbury. He is said to have directed that a stone church be built in 712. The Abbey Church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Saint Dunstan, the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life. He instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury and built new cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel, which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186.

 

The abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved set in 36 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland. It is approached by the Abbey Gatehouse which was built in the mid-14th century and completely restored in 1810.

 

There is also a strong Irish connection to Glastonbury as it is said to be along a route of pilgrimage from Ireland to Rome. It is supposed that St. Patrick and St. Brigid both came to the area and both Saints are documented by William of Malmesbury as having done so. There are Chapels named after them too - St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury is within the Abbey grounds and St. Brigid's Chapel is at Beckery (Little Ireland).

 

The Church of St Benedict was rebuilt by Abbot Richard Beere in about 1520. This is now an Anglican church and is linked with the parishes of St John's Church in Glastonbury and St Mary's & All Saints Church in the village of Meare as a joint benefice.

 

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the current Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The church is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements and at 134½ feet (about 41 metres), is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower, possibly of Saxon origin, 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. The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

In the centuries that followed the Reformation, many religious denominations came to Glastonbury to establish chapels and meeting houses. For such a relatively small town, Glastonbury has a remarkably diverse history of Christian places of worship, further enriched by the fact that several of these movements saw break-away factions, typically setting up new meeting places as a result of doctrinal disagreements, leaving behind them a legacy which would require a highly specialized degree of study in order to chart their respective histories and places of practice. Amongst their number have been Puritans/Undetermined Protestants, Quakers, Independents, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Salvationists, Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals.

 

The United Reformed Church on the High Street was built in 1814 and altered in 1898. It stands on the site of the Ship Inn where meetings were held during the 18th century. It is Grade II listed.

 

Glastonbury Methodist Church on Lambrook Street was built in 1843 and has a galleried interior, typical of a non-conformist chapel of that period, but an unusual number of stained glass windows. Close by the front of the church is an ancient pond, which was later covered to form a brick-arched reservoir. This is mentioned in property deeds of 1821, and is still accessible, containing approximately 31,500 gallons of water.

 

The Methodist Church on Lambrook street was originally the Glastonbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built on Northload Street in 1844, with an adjoining house added for a minister in 1869. This chapel was closed in 1968, since which time it has had a number of different uses, being described in 2007 as the Maitreya Monastery, prior to which it had been the Archangel Michael Soul Therapy Centre.

 

The Bove Town Gospel Hall has been a place of worship in the town since at least 1889, when it was listed as a mission of the Plymouth Brethren. Jehovah's Witnesses originally occupied a Kingdom Hall on Archer's Way from 1942. This transferred to Church Lane in 1964, and subsequently to its present site on Old Wells Road. The Gospel Hall was registered for the solemnizing of marriages in 1964

 

The Catholic Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury was built, on land near to the Abbey, in 1939. A statue based on a 14th-century metal seal was blessed in 1955 and crowned in 1965 restoring the Marian shrine that had been in the Abbey prior to the reformation. The Shrine is now the home of the Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery founded in August 2019.

 

The Glastonbury Order of Druids was formed on Mayday 1988.

 

Sufism has been long established in Glastonbury. Zikrs are held weekly in private homes, and on the first Sunday of every month a zikr is held at St Margaret's Chapel in Magdalene Street. A Sufi charity shop was established in Glastonbury in 1999, and supports missionary work in Africa. This shop was opened after Sheikh Nazim came to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. Here he declared, "This is the spiritual heart of England ... It is from here that the spiritual new age will begin and to here that Jesus will return".

 

The pagan Glastonbury Goddess Temple was founded in 2002 and registered as a place of worship the following year. It is self-described as the first temple of its kind to exist in Europe in over a thousand years.

 

In April 2012, it was reported by The Guardian newspaper that, according to the Pilgrim Reception Centre in the town, Glastonbury had around seventy different faith groups. Some of these groups attended a special ceremony to celebrate this diversity, held in the Chalice Well Gardens on 21 April of that year.

 

The 22nd Jagannatha Ratha-yatra Krishna Festival took place in Glastonbury on Sunday 4 October 2015. Devotees of the Krishna Consciousness movement travelled to the town from London, Bath, Bristol and elsewhere to join with locals in a procession and Kirtan.

 

Glastonbury also headquarters the British Orthodox Church which is independent Oriental Orthodox denomination since 2015

 

Glastonbury has a particular significance for members of the Baháʼí Faith in that Wellesley Tudor Pole, founder of the Chalice Well Trust, was one of the earliest and most prominent adherents of this faith in the United Kingdom.

 

The local football team is Glastonbury F.C. They joined the Western Football League in 1919 and have won the Western Football League title three times in their history. The club are now playing in the Somerset County Football League.

 

Glastonbury Cricket Club previously competed in the West of England Premier League, one of the ECB Premier Leagues, the highest level of recreational cricket in England and Wales. The club plays at the Tor Leisure Ground, which used to stage Somerset County Cricket Club first-class fixtures.

 

The town is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

 

In a 1904 novel by Charles Whistler entitled A Prince of Cornwall Glastonbury in the days of Ine of Wessex is portrayed. It is also a setting in the Warlord Chronicles, a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. Modern fiction has also used Glastonbury as a setting including The Age of Misrule series of books by Mark Chadbourn in which the Watchmen appear, a group selected from Anglican priests in and around Glastonbury to safeguard knowledge of a gate to the Otherworld on top of Glastonbury Tor. John Cowper Powys's novel A Glastonbury Romance is set in Glastonbury and is concerned with the Grail. The historical mystery novel Grave Goods by Diana Norman (writing under the pen name Ariana Frankin) is set in Glastonbury just after the abbey fire and concerns the supposed graves of Arthur and Guinevere, as well as featuring other landmarks such as the Tor.

 

The Children's World charity grew out of the festival and is based in the town. It is known internationally (as Children's World International). It was set up by Arabella Churchill in 1981 to provide drama participation and creative play and to work creatively in educational settings, providing social and emotional benefits for all children, particularly those with special needs. Children's World International is the sister charity of Children's World and was started in 1999 to work with children in the Balkans, in conjunction with Balkan Sunflowers and Save the Children. They also run the Glastonbury Children's Festival each August.

 

The local Brass Band is Glastonbury Brass which is currently placed in the first section for the West of England area. The band was founded in 2017 when the old Yeovil Town Band relocated after running into financial difficulty following a "notice to quit" on its rehearsal facility in September 2016. The band is featured twice on the Haiku Salut album There Is No Elsewhere (2018) and can be heard on the tracks Cold To Crack The Stones and The More And Moreness. In February 2020, the band was involved in the launch of Johnny Mars's "Dare to Dream" project aimed at raising awareness of the effects mankind is having on the world.

 

Glastonbury is the final venue for the annual November West Country Carnival.

 

Glastonbury has been described as a New Age community where communities have grown up to include people with New Age beliefs.

 

The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926. The festivals were founded by English socialist composer Rutland Boughton and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopian principles. With strong Arthurian connections and historic and prehistoric associations, Glastonbury was chosen to host the festivals.

 

The more recent Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, founded in 1970, is now the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. Although it is named after Glastonbury, it is actually held at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town of Glastonbury. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km2), had over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. The festival has spawned a range of other work including the 1972 film Glastonbury Fayre and album, 1996 film Glastonbury the Movie and the 2005 DVD Glastonbury Anthems.

 

Glastonbury has been the birthplace or home to many notable people. Peter King, 1st Baron King was the recorder of Glastonbury in 1705. Thomas Bramwell Welch the discoverer of the pasteurisation process to prevent the fermentation of grape juice was born in Glastonbury in 1825. The judge John Creighton represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770 to 1775. The fossil collector Thomas Hawkins lived in the town during the 19th century.

 

The religious connections and mythology of the town have also attracted notable authors. The occultist and writer Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth) lived and is buried in Glastonbury. Her old house was home to the writer and historian Geoffrey Ashe, who was known for his works on local legends. Frederick Bligh Bond, archaeologist and writer. Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker, and spiritual teacher lived in Glastonbury during the 1980s. Eileen Caddy was at a sanctuary in Glastonbury when she first claimed to have heard the "voice of God" while meditating. Her subsequent instructions from the "voice" directed her to take on Sheena Govan as her spiritual teacher, and became a spiritual teacher and new age author, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community.

 

Popular entertainment and literature is also represented amongst the population. English composer Rutland Boughton moved from Birmingham to Glastonbury in 1911 and established the country's first national annual summer school of music. Gary Stringer, lead singer of rock band Reef, was a local along with other members of the band. The juggler Haggis McLeod and his late wife, Arabella Churchill, one of the founders of the Glastonbury Festival, lived in the town. The conductor Charles Hazlewood lives locally and hosts the "Play the Field" music festival on his farm nearby. Bill Bunbury moved on from Glastonbury to become a writer, radio broadcaster, and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

Athletes and sports players from Glastonbury include cricketers Cyril Baily in 1880, George Burrough in 1907, and Eustace Bisgood in 1878. The footballer Peter Spiring was born in Glastonbury in 1950. Formula 1 driver Lando Norris grew up in Glastonbury.

 

Twin towns

France Bretenoux, France

Greece Patmos, Greece

Ethiopia Lalibela, Ethiopia

 

Freedom of the Town

Michael Eavis: 3 May 2022. The founder of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival has been made a Freeman of Glastonbury. Born in 1935, the celebrated dairy farmer held his first Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1970. 52 years later, Mr. Eavis has been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

 

The Key of Avalon

This award was created in 2022 by the Glastonbury Town Council. The first recipient was Prem Rawat, international peace advocate and author, who spoke at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.

 

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

 

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset.

 

The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland, and the north-east and west of the county are hilly. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds AONB, all of the Mendip Hills AONB, and a small part of Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB; the west contains the Quantock Hills AONB, a majority of Exmoor National Park, and part of the Blackdown Hills AONB. The main rivers in the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.

 

There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals.

 

Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.

 

Following the Roman Empire's invasion of southern Britain, the mining of lead and silver in the Mendip Hills provided a basis for local industry and commerce. Bath became the site of a major Roman fort and city, the remains of which can still be seen. During the Early Medieval period Somerset was the scene of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and first the Britons and later the Danes. In this period it was ruled first by various kings of Wessex, and later by kings of England. Following the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy by the Normans in 1066, castles were built in Somerset.

 

Expansion of the population and settlements in the county continued during the Tudor and more recent periods. Agriculture and coal mining expanded until the 18th century, although other industries declined during the industrial revolution. In modern times the population has grown, particularly in the seaside towns, notably Weston-super-Mare. Agriculture continues to be a major business, if no longer a major employer because of mechanisation. Light industries are based in towns such as Bridgwater and Yeovil. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet manufacture cider, although the acreage of apple orchards is less than it once was.

 

The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods saw hunter-gatherers move into the region of Somerset. There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the area from around 500,000 years ago. There is still some doubt about whether the artefacts are of human origin but they have been dated within Oxygen Isotope Stage 13 (524,000 – 478,000 BP). Other experts suggest that "many of the bone-rich Middle Pleistocene deposits belong to a single but climatically variable interglacial that succeeded the Cromerian, perhaps about 500,000 years ago. Detailed analysis of the origin and modification of the flint artefacts leads to the conclusion that the assemblage was probably a product of geomorphological processes rather than human work, but a single cut-marked bone suggests a human presence." Animal bones and artefacts unearthed in the 1980s at Westbury-sub-Mendip, in Somerset, have shown evidence of early human activity approximately 700,000 years ago.

 

Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man, came to Somerset during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of occupation of four Mendip caves 35,000 to 30,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, it is probable that Somerset was deserted as the area experienced tundra conditions. Evidence was found in Gough's Cave of deposits of human bone dating from around 12,500 years ago. The bones were defleshed and probably ritually buried though perhaps related to cannibalism being practised in the area at the time or making skull cups or storage containers. Somerset was one of the first areas of future England settled following the end of Younger Dryas phase of the last ice age c. 8000 BC. Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge. He is Britain's oldest complete human skeleton. The remains date from about 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. Somerset is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from about 6000 BCE; Mesolithic artefacts have been found in more than 70 locations. Mendip caves were used as burial places, with between 50 and 100 skeletons being found in Aveline's Hole. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BCE, there is evidence of farming.

 

At the end of the last ice age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but later the sea level rose, particularly between 1220 and 900 BC and between 800 and 470 BCE, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels became flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The county has prehistoric burial mounds (such as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow), stone rows (such as the circles at Stanton Drew and Priddy) and settlement sites. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has come both from the upland areas, such as in Mendip caves, and from the low land areas such as the Somerset Levels. Dry points in the latter such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement with wooden trackways between them. There were also "lake villages" in the marsh such as those at Glastonbury Lake Village and Meare. One of the oldest dated human road work in Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BC, partially on the route of the even earlier Post Track.

 

There is evidence of Exmoor's human occupation from Mesolithic times onwards. In the Neolithic period people started to manage animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act purely as hunter gatherers. It is also likely that extraction and smelting of mineral ores to make tools, weapons, containers and ornaments in bronze and then iron started in the late Neolithic and into the Bronze and Iron Ages.

 

The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle, Worlebury Camp and Ham Hill. The age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but is believed to be from the Neolithic period. There is evidence of mining on the Mendip Hills back into the late Bronze Age when there were technological changes in metal working indicated by the use of lead. There are numerous "hill forts", such as Small Down Knoll, Solsbury Hill, Dolebury Warren and Burledge Hill, which seem to have had domestic purposes, not just a defensive role. They generally seem to have been occupied intermittently from the Bronze Age onward, some, such as Cadbury Camp at South Cadbury, being refurbished during different eras. Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber at Williton which is composed of three round barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow.

 

The Iron Age tribes of later Somerset were the Dobunni in north Somerset, Durotriges in south Somerset and Dumnonii in west Somerset. The first and second produced coins, the finds of which allows their tribal areas to be suggested, but the latter did not. All three had a Celtic culture and language. However, Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills, include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring, Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp.

 

Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from 47 AD to about 409 AD. However, the end was not abrupt and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century.

 

Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor Vespasian. The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of 60–61 AD. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 AD.

 

The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the potential of the Mendip Hills. A great deal of the attraction of the lead mines may have been the potential for the extraction of silver.

 

Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester. The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning ditch). The Fosse Way ran through Bath, Shepton Mallet, Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster. The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Small towns and trading ports were set up, such as Camerton and Combwich. The larger towns decayed in the latter part of the period, though the smaller ones appear to have decayed less. In the latter part of the period, Ilchester seems to have been a "civitas" capital and Bath may also have been one. Particularly to the east of the River Parrett, villas were constructed. However, only a few Roman sites have been found to the west of the river. The villas have produced important mosaics and artifacts. Cemeteries have been found outside the Roman towns of Somerset and by Roman temples such as that at Lamyatt. Romano-British farming settlements, such as those at Catsgore and Sigwells, have been found in Somerset. There was salt production on the Somerset Levels near Highbridge and quarrying took place near Bath, where the Roman Baths gave their name to Bath.

 

Excavations carried out before the flooding of Chew Valley Lake also uncovered Roman remains, indicating agricultural and industrial activity from the second half of the 1st century until the 3rd century AD. The finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets (the first in the UK) with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke. In October 2001 the West Bagborough Hoard of 4th century Roman silver was discovered in West Bagborough. The 681 coins included two denarii from the early 2nd century and 8 Miliarense and 671 Siliqua all dating to the period AD 337 – 367. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors Constantius II and Julian and derive from a range of mints including Arles and Lyons in France, Trier in Germany and Rome.

 

In April 2010, the Frome Hoard, one of the largest-ever hoards of Roman coins discovered in Britain, was found by a metal detectorist. The hoard of 52,500 coins dated from the 3rd century AD and was found buried in a field near Frome, in a jar 14 inches (36 cm) below the surface. The coins were excavated by archaeologists from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

 

This is the period from about 409 AD to the start of Saxon political control, which was mainly in the late 7th century, though they are said to have captured the Bath area in 577 AD. Initially the Britons of Somerset seem to have continued much as under the Romans but without the imperial taxation and markets. There was then a period of civil war in Britain though it is not known how this affected Somerset. The Western Wandsdyke may have been constructed in this period but archaeological data shows that it was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD. The ditch is on the north side, so presumably it was used by the Celts as a defence against Saxons encroaching from the upper Thames Valley. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, with victories at Bradford-on-Avon (in the Avon Gap in the Wansdyke) in 65

Pasteurised bottles only. "Samuel Smith's India Ale is characterized by the colour of a golden sunset, a refined maltiness and an emphasis on the aroma and flavour from Britain's best hop gardens."

Pub sign of the "White Horse", Bootham, York, North Yorkshire

 

Some background information:

 

The "White Horse" is a traditional style public house that is located in the heart of York. It was founded in 1770 and is continuously kept in service since then. The inn is one of about 350 pubs in the North of England, which are run by Thwaites Brewery.

 

Thwaites Brewery is a regional brewery founded in 1807 by Daniel Thwaites in Blackburn, Lancashire. The firm still operates from its original town centre site, although the original brewery was demolished in 2011, and the majority of its beer business was sold to Marston's in March 2015. In 1999, the Mitchell brewery in Lancaster closed down, and was bought in part by Thwaites. Lancaster Bomber has since been available from Thwaites public houses after being acquired in the takeover. Thwaites also has a hotels division, which is called Shire Hotels. Lancaster Bomber is now brewed by Marston's, as is Wainwright, the other top-selling Thwaites beer.

 

The brewery invested heavily in pasteurised keg beers, especially those powered by nitro in the 1990s. However, it is now working to increase the market for its cask beers.In December 2011, Thwaites unveiled a new craft brewery in December named "Crafty Dan".

 

Born in 1777, Daniel Thwaites first began brewing in Blackburn in 1807 when he joined the 'Eanam Brewery' in partnership with local businessmen, Edward Duckworth and William Clayton. At the age of 31, Daniel married Edward's daughter Betty, who later inherited her father's share of the company following his death in 1822. In 1824, the Brewery became the sole property of Thwaites when William Clayton sold his remaining share of the cony to Daniel.

 

The 19th century was one of growth and increasing prosperity for the brewery. By 1897 Thwaites had grown enough to become a Limited company, but the real expansion came after the First World War. In 1923, Thwaites bought the James Pickup Wines & Spirits Company and then Henry Shaw & Co, which owned the New Brewery in Salford. In 1925, Thwaites began bottling its beers and in 1927, the company bought the Fountain Free Brewery. In 1946 and 1956 respectively, the brewery purchased the Bury Brewing Company and the Preston Brewery Company and in 1966, the Eanam Brewery was extended and renamed Daniel Thwaites "The Star Brewery".

 

During the 1960s Thwaites public houses were in abundance across the town and Daniel Thwaites' ales had become popular throughout East Lancashire. 1966 saw the opening of the new £ 5.5 million brewery followed in 1972 by a new £3m bottling plant, considered to be "the last word in bottling complexes".

 

In 1807, Thwaites started with ten public houses. Based at the Star Brewery in Blackburn, Thwaites now owns an estate of around 350 pubs as well as six four-star full service regional hotels and spas, which trade under the Shire Hotels banner. In addition, Thwaites supplies a full range of drinks to many independently owned pubs, clubs and restaurants in the North of England and a wide range of bottled beers to most major supermarkets.

 

The city of York, where the "White Horse" is located, is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It has almost 200,000 residents and offers a wealth of historic attractions, of which York Minster, the city’s cathedral, is the most prominent.

 

York was founded in AD 71, when the Ninth Legion conquered the Brigantes and constructed a wooden military fortress on flat ground above the River Ouse close to its confluence with the River Foss. The fortress, which was later rebuilt in stone, covered an area of 20 ha (50 acres) and was inhabited by 6,000 soldiers. The site of the Roman fortress lies under the foundations of York Minster, and excavations in the Minster's undercroft have revealed some of the original walls.

 

In the post-Roman era York declined. However it was taken and settled by the Angles in the 5th century. At the beginning of the 7th century King Edwin of Northumbria made York his chief city. In 627 the first minster church in stone was built in York on behalf of Edwin, but as Edwin was killed in 633, the task of completing the stone minster fell to his successor Oswald.

 

Through its location on the River Ouse and its proximity to the Great North Road the York became a major trading centre in medieval times. King John granted the city's first charter in 1212, confirming trading rights in England and Europe. During the course of the later Middle Ages York became a major cloth manufacturing and trading centre. Edward I further stimulated the city's economy by using the city as a base for his war in Scotland. In 1381 the city was the location of significant unrest during the so-called Peasants' Revolt.

 

During Tudor times York underwent a period of economic decline. Under Henry VIII, the Dissolution of the Monasteries saw the end of the York's many monastic houses. This led to the Pilgrimage of Grace, an uprising of northern Catholics in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire who were opposed to religious reform. Guy Fawkes, who was born and educated in York, was a member of a group of Roman Catholic restorationists that planned the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. Its aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I, the entire Protestant, and even most of the Catholic aristocracy and nobility were inside. However the plan failed and Guy Fawkes was executed just one year later.

 

In the following centuries, York lost its pre-eminent position as a trading centre, because of the competition from the nearby cities of Leeds and Hull, together with silting of the River Ouse. Nevertheless, the city's role as the social and cultural centre for wealthy northerners was on the rise.

 

The introduction of the railways in 1839 also established engineering in the city, but with the emergence of tourism as a major industry, the historic core of York became one of the city's major assets. In 1968 York’s historic centre was designated a conservation area. The existing tourist attractions were supplemented by the establishment of the National Railway Museum in 1975 and the Jorvik Viking Centre in 1984. The opening of the University of York in 1963 also added to the prosperity of the city. In June 2007 York was voted as European Tourism City of the Year by European Cities Marketing, beating 130 other European cities to gain first place. Of course the city hasn’t lost its charm and attractiveness since then.

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office in 1871 meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared rather than the Hundred of Booyoolee. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura subdivided but it was soon amalgamated into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was built in 1883 to the design of Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and was then immediately re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced and marketed the BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction with the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla;

20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879. (There was an early Bible Christian Methodist Church in Yankalilla too erected in 1856 but it was demolished decades ago). The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. The nearby Anglican cemetery has graves dating from 1854.

 

[EN]

Here it is the Tiramisù with Pasteurised Eggs recipe. It is one of the most famous and well known Italian desserts! It is a creamy and cool dessert very easy to prepare.

 

According to the original recipe we should use the ladyfingers, but we are free to replace them with other ingredients, as long as they are immersed into the coffee and they are covered with mascarpone cream!

 

Read the recipe on my blog: www.ipasticcidialice.it/en/tiramisu-with-pasteurised-eggs/

 

[IT]

Ecco la ricetta del Tiramisù con Uova Pastorizzate: un dessert diffuso in tutta Italia e forse uno dei più famosi! E’ un dessert al cucchiaio fresco e cremoso, molto semplice da realizzare.

 

La ricetta originale prevede l’utilizzo dei savoiardi, ma nulla vieta di prepararlo con altre basi, purché siano inzuppati nel caffè e ricoperti da una crema al mascarpone, uova e zucchero!

 

Scopri la ricetta sul mio blog: www.ipasticcidialice.it/it/tiramisu-con-uova-pastorizzate/

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared with that alternate spelling when surveying began and the Hundred was named in 1871. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school opening, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in the 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was added in 1883 to the design of Port Pirie architect William Mallyon.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built immediately. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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 a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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,[5] 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.

 

During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track, west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track, dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older.

 

Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by a wooden palisade. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay.

 

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

 

Glæstyngabyrig. When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from a Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of the village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir.

 

Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which the monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead.

 

William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda.

 

Centwine (676–685) was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey. King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis, the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086.

 

To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century.

 

Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. It was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

 

In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of the building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed, and a scheduled monument. Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building.

 

During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII, were camped at Glastonbury.

 

In 1693 Glastenbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of the settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal.

 

The Somerset town's charter of incorporation was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right.

 

By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from the new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966.

 

In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom.

 

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

 

Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in the town's floral displays.

 

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.

 

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

 

An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere.

 

Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to the Queen.

 

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain, but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well.

 

Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as a child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, "Jerusalem".

 

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.

 

The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall, Magdalene Street. The town hall was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building.

 

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough.

 

The town's retained fire station is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service. There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005.

 

There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total the same population as is mentioned above.

 

Glastonbury falls within the Wells constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Conservative, James Heappey, who replaced Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election.

 

Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos, and Lalibela, Ethiopia.

 

The walk up the Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point, 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves", i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat. The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor. The lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age.

 

The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana. 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 name Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend.

 

Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street. At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

 

Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat, ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change, while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in the UK.

 

The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern.

 

The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to the north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle.

 

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

 

Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage. As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops.

 

The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands, which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of the old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training.

 

According to the Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II.

 

The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials, by Judge Jeffreys. It now serves as a museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre.

 

The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey.

 

The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to Glastonbury Abbey, which is open to visitors. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The front of the 3-storey building is divided into 3 tiers of panels with traceried heads. Above the right of centre entrance are 3 carved panels with arms of the Abbey and Edward IV.

 

The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a museum of the social and agricultural history of Somerset, housed in buildings surrounding a 14th-century barn once belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It was used for the storage of arable produce, particularly wheat and rye, from the abbey's home farm of approximately 524 acres (2.12 km2). Threshing and winnowing would also have been carried out in the barn, which was built from local shelly limestone with thick timbers supporting the stone tiling of the roof. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.

 

The Chalice Well is a holy well at the foot of the Tor, covered by a wooden well-cover with wrought-iron decoration made in 1919. The natural spring has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 L; 30,000 US gal) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxygenated at the surface and is precipitated, providing chalybeate waters. As with the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities. The well is about 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, with two underground chambers at its bottom. It is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolised by Glastonbury Tor (however, some consider Glastonbury Tor to be a 'hugh bounteous female figure'). As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including modern Pagans. The well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.

 

Just a short distance from the Chalice Well site, across a road known as Well House Lane, can be found the "White Spring", where a temple has been created in the 21st century. Whilst the waters of the Chalice Well are touched red with iron, the water of the latter is white with calcite. Some people consider the red water of Chalice Well to have male properties, whilst the white water of White Spring has female qualities. Both springs rise from caverns underneath the Tor and it is claimed that both have healing in their flow.

 

The building now used as the White Spring Temple was originally a Victorian-built well house, erected by the local water board in 1872. Around that time, an outbreak of cholera in the area caused great concern and the natural caves were dug out, and a stone collection chamber was constructed to ensure the flow of a quality water supply. Study of the flow of water into the collection chamber has shown that the builders also tapped into other springs, besides the White Spring and judging from the high iron content of one of these springs, it appears that a small offshoot of Chalice Well finds its way under Well House Lane to emerge beside the White Spring. However, after building the reservoir, the water board soon discovered that the high calciferous content of the water caused pipes to block and by the end of the 19th century water was piped into Glastonbury from out of town. After lying derelict for many years, the water board sold off the well house, which is now maintained by a group of volunteers as a "water temple". On the outside of the building is a tap where visitors and locals can collect the water of the White Spring.

 

The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles (23 km) through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol Channel in the early 19th century, but it became uneconomic with the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

 

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box. The site is now a timber yard for a local company. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the entrance.

 

The nearest railway station is at Castle Cary but there is no direct bus route linking it to Glastonbury. There are convenient bus connections between Glastonbury and the railway stations at Bristol Temple Meads (over an hour travelling time) and at Taunton. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.

 

The main road in the town is the A39 which passes through Glastonbury from Wells connecting the town with Street and the M5 motorway. The other roads around the town are small and run across the levels generally following the drainage ditches. Local bus services are provided by Buses of Somerset (part of First), First West of England, Frome Bus & Libra Travel. The main routes are to Bristol via Wells, to Bridgwater, to Yeovil via Street and to Taunton.There is also a coach service to London Victoria provided by Berrys.

 

Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

 

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 102.4 FM, Worthy FM on 87.7 FM which broadcast during The Glastonbury Festival and GWS Radio on 107.1 FM, a community radio station.

 

The town’s local newspapers are the Mid Somerset Series, Western Daily Press, Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

 

There are several infant and primary schools in Glastonbury and the surrounding villages. Secondary education is provided by St Dunstan's School. In 2017, the school had 327 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years. It is named after St. Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD. The school was built in 1958 with major building work, at a cost of £1.2 million, in 1998, adding the science block and the sports hall. It was designated as a specialist Arts College in 2004, and the £800,000 spent at this time paid for the Performing Arts studio and facilities to support students with special educational needs. Tor School is a pupil referral unit based on Beckery New Road, which caters for 14-16-year-old students who have been excluded from mainstream education, or who have been referred for medical reasons.

 

Strode College in Street provides academic and vocational courses for those aged 16–18 and adult education. A tertiary institution and further education college, most of the courses it offers are A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides some university-level courses, and is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

 

Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in pre-Christian times. The abbey was founded by Britons, and dates to at least the early 7th century, although later medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron's version of the Holy Grail story and to Glastonbury's connection to King Arthur, which dates at least to the early 12th century. William of Malmesbury called this structure "the oldest church in England," and thenceforth it was known simply as the Old Church, inasmuch as it had existed for many years prior to the 7th century as a Celtic religious centre. In his "History of the English Church and People," written in the early eighth century, the Venerable Bede provides details regarding its construction to early missionaries. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658. King Ine of Wessex enriched the endowment of the community of monks already established at Glastonbury. He is said to have directed that a stone church be built in 712. The Abbey Church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Saint Dunstan, the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life. He instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury and built new cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel, which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186.

 

The abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved set in 36 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland. It is approached by the Abbey Gatehouse which was built in the mid-14th century and completely restored in 1810.

 

There is also a strong Irish connection to Glastonbury as it is said to be along a route of pilgrimage from Ireland to Rome. It is supposed that St. Patrick and St. Brigid both came to the area and both Saints are documented by William of Malmesbury as having done so. There are Chapels named after them too - St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury is within the Abbey grounds and St. Brigid's Chapel is at Beckery (Little Ireland).

 

The Church of St Benedict was rebuilt by Abbot Richard Beere in about 1520. This is now an Anglican church and is linked with the parishes of St John's Church in Glastonbury and St Mary's & All Saints Church in the village of Meare as a joint benefice.

 

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the current Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The church is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements and at 134½ feet (about 41 metres), is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower, possibly of Saxon origin, 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. The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

In the centuries that followed the Reformation, many religious denominations came to Glastonbury to establish chapels and meeting houses. For such a relatively small town, Glastonbury has a remarkably diverse history of Christian places of worship, further enriched by the fact that several of these movements saw break-away factions, typically setting up new meeting places as a result of doctrinal disagreements, leaving behind them a legacy which would require a highly specialized degree of study in order to chart their respective histories and places of practice. Amongst their number have been Puritans/Undetermined Protestants, Quakers, Independents, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Salvationists, Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals.

 

The United Reformed Church on the High Street was built in 1814 and altered in 1898. It stands on the site of the Ship Inn where meetings were held during the 18th century. It is Grade II listed.

 

Glastonbury Methodist Church on Lambrook Street was built in 1843 and has a galleried interior, typical of a non-conformist chapel of that period, but an unusual number of stained glass windows. Close by the front of the church is an ancient pond, which was later covered to form a brick-arched reservoir. This is mentioned in property deeds of 1821, and is still accessible, containing approximately 31,500 gallons of water.

 

The Methodist Church on Lambrook street was originally the Glastonbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built on Northload Street in 1844, with an adjoining house added for a minister in 1869. This chapel was closed in 1968, since which time it has had a number of different uses, being described in 2007 as the Maitreya Monastery, prior to which it had been the Archangel Michael Soul Therapy Centre.

 

The Bove Town Gospel Hall has been a place of worship in the town since at least 1889, when it was listed as a mission of the Plymouth Brethren. Jehovah's Witnesses originally occupied a Kingdom Hall on Archer's Way from 1942. This transferred to Church Lane in 1964, and subsequently to its present site on Old Wells Road. The Gospel Hall was registered for the solemnizing of marriages in 1964

 

The Catholic Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury was built, on land near to the Abbey, in 1939. A statue based on a 14th-century metal seal was blessed in 1955 and crowned in 1965 restoring the Marian shrine that had been in the Abbey prior to the reformation. The Shrine is now the home of the Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery founded in August 2019.

 

The Glastonbury Order of Druids was formed on Mayday 1988.

 

Sufism has been long established in Glastonbury. Zikrs are held weekly in private homes, and on the first Sunday of every month a zikr is held at St Margaret's Chapel in Magdalene Street. A Sufi charity shop was established in Glastonbury in 1999, and supports missionary work in Africa. This shop was opened after Sheikh Nazim came to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. Here he declared, "This is the spiritual heart of England ... It is from here that the spiritual new age will begin and to here that Jesus will return".

 

The pagan Glastonbury Goddess Temple was founded in 2002 and registered as a place of worship the following year. It is self-described as the first temple of its kind to exist in Europe in over a thousand years.

 

In April 2012, it was reported by The Guardian newspaper that, according to the Pilgrim Reception Centre in the town, Glastonbury had around seventy different faith groups. Some of these groups attended a special ceremony to celebrate this diversity, held in the Chalice Well Gardens on 21 April of that year.

 

The 22nd Jagannatha Ratha-yatra Krishna Festival took place in Glastonbury on Sunday 4 October 2015. Devotees of the Krishna Consciousness movement travelled to the town from London, Bath, Bristol and elsewhere to join with locals in a procession and Kirtan.

 

Glastonbury also headquarters the British Orthodox Church which is independent Oriental Orthodox denomination since 2015

 

Glastonbury has a particular significance for members of the Baháʼí Faith in that Wellesley Tudor Pole, founder of the Chalice Well Trust, was one of the earliest and most prominent adherents of this faith in the United Kingdom.

 

The local football team is Glastonbury F.C. They joined the Western Football League in 1919 and have won the Western Football League title three times in their history. The club are now playing in the Somerset County Football League.

 

Glastonbury Cricket Club previously competed in the West of England Premier League, one of the ECB Premier Leagues, the highest level of recreational cricket in England and Wales. The club plays at the Tor Leisure Ground, which used to stage Somerset County Cricket Club first-class fixtures.

 

The town is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

 

In a 1904 novel by Charles Whistler entitled A Prince of Cornwall Glastonbury in the days of Ine of Wessex is portrayed. It is also a setting in the Warlord Chronicles, a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. Modern fiction has also used Glastonbury as a setting including The Age of Misrule series of books by Mark Chadbourn in which the Watchmen appear, a group selected from Anglican priests in and around Glastonbury to safeguard knowledge of a gate to the Otherworld on top of Glastonbury Tor. John Cowper Powys's novel A Glastonbury Romance is set in Glastonbury and is concerned with the Grail. The historical mystery novel Grave Goods by Diana Norman (writing under the pen name Ariana Frankin) is set in Glastonbury just after the abbey fire and concerns the supposed graves of Arthur and Guinevere, as well as featuring other landmarks such as the Tor.

 

The Children's World charity grew out of the festival and is based in the town. It is known internationally (as Children's World International). It was set up by Arabella Churchill in 1981 to provide drama participation and creative play and to work creatively in educational settings, providing social and emotional benefits for all children, particularly those with special needs. Children's World International is the sister charity of Children's World and was started in 1999 to work with children in the Balkans, in conjunction with Balkan Sunflowers and Save the Children. They also run the Glastonbury Children's Festival each August.

 

The local Brass Band is Glastonbury Brass which is currently placed in the first section for the West of England area. The band was founded in 2017 when the old Yeovil Town Band relocated after running into financial difficulty following a "notice to quit" on its rehearsal facility in September 2016. The band is featured twice on the Haiku Salut album There Is No Elsewhere (2018) and can be heard on the tracks Cold To Crack The Stones and The More And Moreness. In February 2020, the band was involved in the launch of Johnny Mars's "Dare to Dream" project aimed at raising awareness of the effects mankind is having on the world.

 

Glastonbury is the final venue for the annual November West Country Carnival.

 

Glastonbury has been described as a New Age community where communities have grown up to include people with New Age beliefs.

 

The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926. The festivals were founded by English socialist composer Rutland Boughton and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopian principles. With strong Arthurian connections and historic and prehistoric associations, Glastonbury was chosen to host the festivals.

 

The more recent Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, founded in 1970, is now the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. Although it is named after Glastonbury, it is actually held at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town of Glastonbury. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km2), had over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. The festival has spawned a range of other work including the 1972 film Glastonbury Fayre and album, 1996 film Glastonbury the Movie and the 2005 DVD Glastonbury Anthems.

 

Glastonbury has been the birthplace or home to many notable people. Peter King, 1st Baron King was the recorder of Glastonbury in 1705. Thomas Bramwell Welch the discoverer of the pasteurisation process to prevent the fermentation of grape juice was born in Glastonbury in 1825. The judge John Creighton represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770 to 1775. The fossil collector Thomas Hawkins lived in the town during the 19th century.

 

The religious connections and mythology of the town have also attracted notable authors. The occultist and writer Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth) lived and is buried in Glastonbury. Her old house was home to the writer and historian Geoffrey Ashe, who was known for his works on local legends. Frederick Bligh Bond, archaeologist and writer. Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker, and spiritual teacher lived in Glastonbury during the 1980s. Eileen Caddy was at a sanctuary in Glastonbury when she first claimed to have heard the "voice of God" while meditating. Her subsequent instructions from the "voice" directed her to take on Sheena Govan as her spiritual teacher, and became a spiritual teacher and new age author, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community.

 

Popular entertainment and literature is also represented amongst the population. English composer Rutland Boughton moved from Birmingham to Glastonbury in 1911 and established the country's first national annual summer school of music. Gary Stringer, lead singer of rock band Reef, was a local along with other members of the band. The juggler Haggis McLeod and his late wife, Arabella Churchill, one of the founders of the Glastonbury Festival, lived in the town. The conductor Charles Hazlewood lives locally and hosts the "Play the Field" music festival on his farm nearby. Bill Bunbury moved on from Glastonbury to become a writer, radio broadcaster, and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

Athletes and sports players from Glastonbury include cricketers Cyril Baily in 1880, George Burrough in 1907, and Eustace Bisgood in 1878. The footballer Peter Spiring was born in Glastonbury in 1950. Formula 1 driver Lando Norris grew up in Glastonbury.

 

Twin towns

France Bretenoux, France

Greece Patmos, Greece

Ethiopia Lalibela, Ethiopia

 

Freedom of the Town

Michael Eavis: 3 May 2022. The founder of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival has been made a Freeman of Glastonbury. Born in 1935, the celebrated dairy farmer held his first Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1970. 52 years later, Mr. Eavis has been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

 

The Key of Avalon

This award was created in 2022 by the Glastonbury Town Council. The first recipient was Prem Rawat, international peace advocate and author, who spoke at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.

 

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

 

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset.

 

The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland, and the north-east and west of the county are hilly. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds AONB, all of the Mendip Hills AONB, and a small part of Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB; the west contains the Quantock Hills AONB, a majority of Exmoor National Park, and part of the Blackdown Hills AONB. The main rivers in the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.

 

There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals.

 

Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.

 

Following the Roman Empire's invasion of southern Britain, the mining of lead and silver in the Mendip Hills provided a basis for local industry and commerce. Bath became the site of a major Roman fort and city, the remains of which can still be seen. During the Early Medieval period Somerset was the scene of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and first the Britons and later the Danes. In this period it was ruled first by various kings of Wessex, and later by kings of England. Following the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy by the Normans in 1066, castles were built in Somerset.

 

Expansion of the population and settlements in the county continued during the Tudor and more recent periods. Agriculture and coal mining expanded until the 18th century, although other industries declined during the industrial revolution. In modern times the population has grown, particularly in the seaside towns, notably Weston-super-Mare. Agriculture continues to be a major business, if no longer a major employer because of mechanisation. Light industries are based in towns such as Bridgwater and Yeovil. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet manufacture cider, although the acreage of apple orchards is less than it once was.

 

The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods saw hunter-gatherers move into the region of Somerset. There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the area from around 500,000 years ago. There is still some doubt about whether the artefacts are of human origin but they have been dated within Oxygen Isotope Stage 13 (524,000 – 478,000 BP). Other experts suggest that "many of the bone-rich Middle Pleistocene deposits belong to a single but climatically variable interglacial that succeeded the Cromerian, perhaps about 500,000 years ago. Detailed analysis of the origin and modification of the flint artefacts leads to the conclusion that the assemblage was probably a product of geomorphological processes rather than human work, but a single cut-marked bone suggests a human presence." Animal bones and artefacts unearthed in the 1980s at Westbury-sub-Mendip, in Somerset, have shown evidence of early human activity approximately 700,000 years ago.

 

Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man, came to Somerset during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of occupation of four Mendip caves 35,000 to 30,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, it is probable that Somerset was deserted as the area experienced tundra conditions. Evidence was found in Gough's Cave of deposits of human bone dating from around 12,500 years ago. The bones were defleshed and probably ritually buried though perhaps related to cannibalism being practised in the area at the time or making skull cups or storage containers. Somerset was one of the first areas of future England settled following the end of Younger Dryas phase of the last ice age c. 8000 BC. Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge. He is Britain's oldest complete human skeleton. The remains date from about 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. Somerset is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from about 6000 BCE; Mesolithic artefacts have been found in more than 70 locations. Mendip caves were used as burial places, with between 50 and 100 skeletons being found in Aveline's Hole. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BCE, there is evidence of farming.

 

At the end of the last ice age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but later the sea level rose, particularly between 1220 and 900 BC and between 800 and 470 BCE, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels became flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The county has prehistoric burial mounds (such as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow), stone rows (such as the circles at Stanton Drew and Priddy) and settlement sites. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has come both from the upland areas, such as in Mendip caves, and from the low land areas such as the Somerset Levels. Dry points in the latter such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement with wooden trackways between them. There were also "lake villages" in the marsh such as those at Glastonbury Lake Village and Meare. One of the oldest dated human road work in Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BC, partially on the route of the even earlier Post Track.

 

There is evidence of Exmoor's human occupation from Mesolithic times onwards. In the Neolithic period people started to manage animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act purely as hunter gatherers. It is also likely that extraction and smelting of mineral ores to make tools, weapons, containers and ornaments in bronze and then iron started in the late Neolithic and into the Bronze and Iron Ages.

 

The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle, Worlebury Camp and Ham Hill. The age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but is believed to be from the Neolithic period. There is evidence of mining on the Mendip Hills back into the late Bronze Age when there were technological changes in metal working indicated by the use of lead. There are numerous "hill forts", such as Small Down Knoll, Solsbury Hill, Dolebury Warren and Burledge Hill, which seem to have had domestic purposes, not just a defensive role. They generally seem to have been occupied intermittently from the Bronze Age onward, some, such as Cadbury Camp at South Cadbury, being refurbished during different eras. Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber at Williton which is composed of three round barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow.

 

The Iron Age tribes of later Somerset were the Dobunni in north Somerset, Durotriges in south Somerset and Dumnonii in west Somerset. The first and second produced coins, the finds of which allows their tribal areas to be suggested, but the latter did not. All three had a Celtic culture and language. However, Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills, include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring, Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp.

 

Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from 47 AD to about 409 AD. However, the end was not abrupt and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century.

 

Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor Vespasian. The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of 60–61 AD. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 AD.

 

The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the potential of the Mendip Hills. A great deal of the attraction of the lead mines may have been the potential for the extraction of silver.

 

Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester. The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning ditch). The Fosse Way ran through Bath, Shepton Mallet, Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster. The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Small towns and trading ports were set up, such as Camerton and Combwich. The larger towns decayed in the latter part of the period, though the smaller ones appear to have decayed less. In the latter part of the period, Ilchester seems to have been a "civitas" capital and Bath may also have been one. Particularly to the east of the River Parrett, villas were constructed. However, only a few Roman sites have been found to the west of the river. The villas have produced important mosaics and artifacts. Cemeteries have been found outside the Roman towns of Somerset and by Roman temples such as that at Lamyatt. Romano-British farming settlements, such as those at Catsgore and Sigwells, have been found in Somerset. There was salt production on the Somerset Levels near Highbridge and quarrying took place near Bath, where the Roman Baths gave their name to Bath.

 

Excavations carried out before the flooding of Chew Valley Lake also uncovered Roman remains, indicating agricultural and industrial activity from the second half of the 1st century until the 3rd century AD. The finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets (the first in the UK) with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke. In October 2001 the West Bagborough Hoard of 4th century Roman silver was discovered in West Bagborough. The 681 coins included two denarii from the early 2nd century and 8 Miliarense and 671 Siliqua all dating to the period AD 337 – 367. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors Constantius II and Julian and derive from a range of mints including Arles and Lyons in France, Trier in Germany and Rome.

 

In April 2010, the Frome Hoard, one of the largest-ever hoards of Roman coins discovered in Britain, was found by a metal detectorist. The hoard of 52,500 coins dated from the 3rd century AD and was found buried in a field near Frome, in a jar 14 inches (36 cm) below the surface. The coins were excavated by archaeologists from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

 

This is the period from about 409 AD to the start of Saxon political control, which was mainly in the late 7th century, though they are said to have captured the Bath area in 577 AD. Initially the Britons of Somerset seem to have continued much as under the Romans but without the imperial taxation and markets. There was then a period of civil war in Britain though it is not known how this affected Somerset. The Western Wandsdyke may have been constructed in this period but archaeological data shows that it was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD. The ditch is on the north side, so presumably it was used by the Celts as a defence against Saxons encroaching from the upper Thames Valley. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, with victories at Bradford-on-Avon (in the Avon Gap in the Wansdyke) in 65

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. There were many Catholic families in the district as in the 1855 Yankalilla had a government “work depot” where recently arrived immigrant Irish girls could seek employment as domestic servants. Although there was never a Catholic Church in Yankalilla a Catholic Church had opened in Normanville in 1857. The Wissanger School near the current Yankalilla Area School was built 1859 as the first Yankalilla town school. The land for it was donated by Septimane Herbert and the bricks were donated by Robert Norman of Normanville. There are several important churches in Yankalilla. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879 which is now the Uniting Church. But before this existed the Wesleyan Methodists built a church at Normanville in 1854. It still exists as the RSL Club rooms and behind it is a pioneer cemetery which contains the grave of Nelson Leak who built the church in 1854. It contains a number of headstones from the 1850s all in beautifully inscribed Willunga slate prepared by monumental masons from Willunga such a George Sara the owner of the Bangor slate quarry. The church closed in 1949 as the Normanville Methodist Church and was sold to the Returned Services League in 1952. The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. Next to the church is the Anglican rectory and cemetery which has graves dating from 1854.

 

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. There were many Catholic families in the district as in the 1855 Yankalilla had a government “work depot” where recently arrived immigrant Irish girls could seek employment as domestic servants. Although there was never a Catholic Church in Yankalilla a Catholic Church had opened in Normanville in 1857. The Wissanger School near the current Yankalilla Area School was built 1859 as the first Yankalilla town school. The land for it was donated by Septimane Herbert and the bricks were donated by Robert Norman of Normanville. There are several important churches in Yankalilla. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879 which is now the Uniting Church. But before this existed the Wesleyan Methodists built a church at Normanville in 1854. It still exists as the RSL Club rooms and behind it is a pioneer cemetery which contains the grave of Nelson Leak who built the church in 1854. It contains a number of headstones from the 1850s all in beautifully inscribed Willunga slate prepared by monumental masons from Willunga such a George Sara the owner of the Bangor slate quarry. The church closed in 1949 as the Normanville Methodist Church and was sold to the Returned Services League in 1952. The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. Next to the church is the Anglican rectory and cemetery which has graves dating from 1854.

 

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. There were many Catholic families in the district as in the 1855 Yankalilla had a government “work depot” where recently arrived immigrant Irish girls could seek employment as domestic servants. Although there was never a Catholic Church in Yankalilla a Catholic Church had opened in Normanville in 1857. The Wissanger School near the current Yankalilla Area School was built 1859 as the first Yankalilla town school. The land for it was donated by Septimane Herbert and the bricks were donated by Robert Norman of Normanville. There are several important churches in Yankalilla. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879 which is now the Uniting Church. But before this existed the Wesleyan Methodists built a church at Normanville in 1854. It still exists as the RSL Club rooms and behind it is a pioneer cemetery which contains the grave of Nelson Leak who built the church in 1854. It contains a number of headstones from the 1850s all in beautifully inscribed Willunga slate prepared by monumental masons from Willunga such a George Sara the owner of the Bangor slate quarry. The church closed in 1949 as the Normanville Methodist Church and was sold to the Returned Services League in 1952. The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. Next to the church is the Anglican rectory and cemetery which has graves dating from 1854.

 

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. There were many Catholic families in the district as in the 1855 Yankalilla had a government “work depot” where recently arrived immigrant Irish girls could seek employment as domestic servants. Although there was never a Catholic Church in Yankalilla a Catholic Church had opened in Normanville in 1857. The Wissanger School near the current Yankalilla Area School was built 1859 as the first Yankalilla town school. The land for it was donated by Septimane Herbert and the bricks were donated by Robert Norman of Normanville. There are several important churches in Yankalilla. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879 which is now the Uniting Church. But before this existed the Wesleyan Methodists built a church at Normanville in 1854. It still exists as the RSL Club rooms and behind it is a pioneer cemetery which contains the grave of Nelson Leak who built the church in 1854. It contains a number of headstones from the 1850s all in beautifully inscribed Willunga slate prepared by monumental masons from Willunga such a George Sara the owner of the Bangor slate quarry. The church closed in 1949 as the Normanville Methodist Church and was sold to the Returned Services League in 1952. The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. Next to the church is the Anglican rectory and cemetery which has graves dating from 1854.

 

Laura. Like Gladstone this town has around 600 people. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the school opening in 1873, the Wesleyan Church in 1873 and the brewery in 1876. A butter factory opened in 1898. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now a museum), the old post office and police station and the school. The town’s claim to fame is that the poet C.J Dennis was born in Laura in 1876 but he lived in many SA towns before he left for Victoria. The old brewery was sited on the banks of the Rocky River as a reliable water supply was necessary for successful breweries. Not far away in the hills of the Southern Flinders Ranges is Beetaloo Reservoir which was constructed between 1888 and 1890 to provide fresh water for the copper triangle towns of Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo. The reservoir has been increased in capacity in 1927 and again in 1979. The town also had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the foundries at Gawler and operated into the 1930s. During World War Two Laura had a flax mill to produce canvas. Crops of flax were grown from Wirrabara to Laura. It closed in 1947. As early as 1891 Laura had a dairy factory to process milk and make butter, some of which was railed to Broken Hill.

 

Laura has been home to Golden North ice cream since 1923. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business, and they have since expanded production, including the famous honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006.

 

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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 a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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,[5] 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.

 

During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track, west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track, dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older.

 

Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by a wooden palisade. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay.

 

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

 

Glæstyngabyrig. When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from a Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of the village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir.

 

Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which the monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead.

 

William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda.

 

Centwine (676–685) was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey. King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis, the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086.

 

To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century.

 

Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. It was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

 

In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of the building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed, and a scheduled monument. Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building.

 

During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII, were camped at Glastonbury.

 

In 1693 Glastenbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of the settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal.

 

The Somerset town's charter of incorporation was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right.

 

By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from the new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966.

 

In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom.

 

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

 

Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in the town's floral displays.

 

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.

 

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

 

An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere.

 

Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to the Queen.

 

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain, but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well.

 

Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as a child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, "Jerusalem".

 

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.

 

The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall, Magdalene Street. The town hall was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building.

 

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough.

 

The town's retained fire station is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service. There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005.

 

There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total the same population as is mentioned above.

 

Glastonbury falls within the Wells constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Conservative, James Heappey, who replaced Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election.

 

Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos, and Lalibela, Ethiopia.

 

The walk up the Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point, 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves", i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat. The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor. The lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age.

 

The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana. 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 name Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend.

 

Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street. At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

 

Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat, ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change, while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in the UK.

 

The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern.

 

The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to the north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle.

 

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

 

Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage. As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops.

 

The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands, which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of the old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training.

 

According to the Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II.

 

The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials, by Judge Jeffreys. It now serves as a museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre.

 

The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey.

 

The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to Glastonbury Abbey, which is open to visitors. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The front of the 3-storey building is divided into 3 tiers of panels with traceried heads. Above the right of centre entrance are 3 carved panels with arms of the Abbey and Edward IV.

 

The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a museum of the social and agricultural history of Somerset, housed in buildings surrounding a 14th-century barn once belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It was used for the storage of arable produce, particularly wheat and rye, from the abbey's home farm of approximately 524 acres (2.12 km2). Threshing and winnowing would also have been carried out in the barn, which was built from local shelly limestone with thick timbers supporting the stone tiling of the roof. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.

 

The Chalice Well is a holy well at the foot of the Tor, covered by a wooden well-cover with wrought-iron decoration made in 1919. The natural spring has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 L; 30,000 US gal) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxygenated at the surface and is precipitated, providing chalybeate waters. As with the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities. The well is about 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, with two underground chambers at its bottom. It is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolised by Glastonbury Tor (however, some consider Glastonbury Tor to be a 'hugh bounteous female figure'). As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including modern Pagans. The well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.

 

Just a short distance from the Chalice Well site, across a road known as Well House Lane, can be found the "White Spring", where a temple has been created in the 21st century. Whilst the waters of the Chalice Well are touched red with iron, the water of the latter is white with calcite. Some people consider the red water of Chalice Well to have male properties, whilst the white water of White Spring has female qualities. Both springs rise from caverns underneath the Tor and it is claimed that both have healing in their flow.

 

The building now used as the White Spring Temple was originally a Victorian-built well house, erected by the local water board in 1872. Around that time, an outbreak of cholera in the area caused great concern and the natural caves were dug out, and a stone collection chamber was constructed to ensure the flow of a quality water supply. Study of the flow of water into the collection chamber has shown that the builders also tapped into other springs, besides the White Spring and judging from the high iron content of one of these springs, it appears that a small offshoot of Chalice Well finds its way under Well House Lane to emerge beside the White Spring. However, after building the reservoir, the water board soon discovered that the high calciferous content of the water caused pipes to block and by the end of the 19th century water was piped into Glastonbury from out of town. After lying derelict for many years, the water board sold off the well house, which is now maintained by a group of volunteers as a "water temple". On the outside of the building is a tap where visitors and locals can collect the water of the White Spring.

 

The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles (23 km) through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol Channel in the early 19th century, but it became uneconomic with the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

 

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box. The site is now a timber yard for a local company. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the entrance.

 

The nearest railway station is at Castle Cary but there is no direct bus route linking it to Glastonbury. There are convenient bus connections between Glastonbury and the railway stations at Bristol Temple Meads (over an hour travelling time) and at Taunton. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.

 

The main road in the town is the A39 which passes through Glastonbury from Wells connecting the town with Street and the M5 motorway. The other roads around the town are small and run across the levels generally following the drainage ditches. Local bus services are provided by Buses of Somerset (part of First), First West of England, Frome Bus & Libra Travel. The main routes are to Bristol via Wells, to Bridgwater, to Yeovil via Street and to Taunton.There is also a coach service to London Victoria provided by Berrys.

 

Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

 

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 102.4 FM, Worthy FM on 87.7 FM which broadcast during The Glastonbury Festival and GWS Radio on 107.1 FM, a community radio station.

 

The town’s local newspapers are the Mid Somerset Series, Western Daily Press, Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

 

There are several infant and primary schools in Glastonbury and the surrounding villages. Secondary education is provided by St Dunstan's School. In 2017, the school had 327 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years. It is named after St. Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD. The school was built in 1958 with major building work, at a cost of £1.2 million, in 1998, adding the science block and the sports hall. It was designated as a specialist Arts College in 2004, and the £800,000 spent at this time paid for the Performing Arts studio and facilities to support students with special educational needs. Tor School is a pupil referral unit based on Beckery New Road, which caters for 14-16-year-old students who have been excluded from mainstream education, or who have been referred for medical reasons.

 

Strode College in Street provides academic and vocational courses for those aged 16–18 and adult education. A tertiary institution and further education college, most of the courses it offers are A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides some university-level courses, and is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

 

Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in pre-Christian times. The abbey was founded by Britons, and dates to at least the early 7th century, although later medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron's version of the Holy Grail story and to Glastonbury's connection to King Arthur, which dates at least to the early 12th century. William of Malmesbury called this structure "the oldest church in England," and thenceforth it was known simply as the Old Church, inasmuch as it had existed for many years prior to the 7th century as a Celtic religious centre. In his "History of the English Church and People," written in the early eighth century, the Venerable Bede provides details regarding its construction to early missionaries. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658. King Ine of Wessex enriched the endowment of the community of monks already established at Glastonbury. He is said to have directed that a stone church be built in 712. The Abbey Church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Saint Dunstan, the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life. He instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury and built new cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel, which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186.

 

The abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved set in 36 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland. It is approached by the Abbey Gatehouse which was built in the mid-14th century and completely restored in 1810.

 

There is also a strong Irish connection to Glastonbury as it is said to be along a route of pilgrimage from Ireland to Rome. It is supposed that St. Patrick and St. Brigid both came to the area and both Saints are documented by William of Malmesbury as having done so. There are Chapels named after them too - St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury is within the Abbey grounds and St. Brigid's Chapel is at Beckery (Little Ireland).

 

The Church of St Benedict was rebuilt by Abbot Richard Beere in about 1520. This is now an Anglican church and is linked with the parishes of St John's Church in Glastonbury and St Mary's & All Saints Church in the village of Meare as a joint benefice.

 

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the current Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The church is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements and at 134½ feet (about 41 metres), is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower, possibly of Saxon origin, 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. The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

In the centuries that followed the Reformation, many religious denominations came to Glastonbury to establish chapels and meeting houses. For such a relatively small town, Glastonbury has a remarkably diverse history of Christian places of worship, further enriched by the fact that several of these movements saw break-away factions, typically setting up new meeting places as a result of doctrinal disagreements, leaving behind them a legacy which would require a highly specialized degree of study in order to chart their respective histories and places of practice. Amongst their number have been Puritans/Undetermined Protestants, Quakers, Independents, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Salvationists, Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals.

 

The United Reformed Church on the High Street was built in 1814 and altered in 1898. It stands on the site of the Ship Inn where meetings were held during the 18th century. It is Grade II listed.

 

Glastonbury Methodist Church on Lambrook Street was built in 1843 and has a galleried interior, typical of a non-conformist chapel of that period, but an unusual number of stained glass windows. Close by the front of the church is an ancient pond, which was later covered to form a brick-arched reservoir. This is mentioned in property deeds of 1821, and is still accessible, containing approximately 31,500 gallons of water.

 

The Methodist Church on Lambrook street was originally the Glastonbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built on Northload Street in 1844, with an adjoining house added for a minister in 1869. This chapel was closed in 1968, since which time it has had a number of different uses, being described in 2007 as the Maitreya Monastery, prior to which it had been the Archangel Michael Soul Therapy Centre.

 

The Bove Town Gospel Hall has been a place of worship in the town since at least 1889, when it was listed as a mission of the Plymouth Brethren. Jehovah's Witnesses originally occupied a Kingdom Hall on Archer's Way from 1942. This transferred to Church Lane in 1964, and subsequently to its present site on Old Wells Road. The Gospel Hall was registered for the solemnizing of marriages in 1964

 

The Catholic Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury was built, on land near to the Abbey, in 1939. A statue based on a 14th-century metal seal was blessed in 1955 and crowned in 1965 restoring the Marian shrine that had been in the Abbey prior to the reformation. The Shrine is now the home of the Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery founded in August 2019.

 

The Glastonbury Order of Druids was formed on Mayday 1988.

 

Sufism has been long established in Glastonbury. Zikrs are held weekly in private homes, and on the first Sunday of every month a zikr is held at St Margaret's Chapel in Magdalene Street. A Sufi charity shop was established in Glastonbury in 1999, and supports missionary work in Africa. This shop was opened after Sheikh Nazim came to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. Here he declared, "This is the spiritual heart of England ... It is from here that the spiritual new age will begin and to here that Jesus will return".

 

The pagan Glastonbury Goddess Temple was founded in 2002 and registered as a place of worship the following year. It is self-described as the first temple of its kind to exist in Europe in over a thousand years.

 

In April 2012, it was reported by The Guardian newspaper that, according to the Pilgrim Reception Centre in the town, Glastonbury had around seventy different faith groups. Some of these groups attended a special ceremony to celebrate this diversity, held in the Chalice Well Gardens on 21 April of that year.

 

The 22nd Jagannatha Ratha-yatra Krishna Festival took place in Glastonbury on Sunday 4 October 2015. Devotees of the Krishna Consciousness movement travelled to the town from London, Bath, Bristol and elsewhere to join with locals in a procession and Kirtan.

 

Glastonbury also headquarters the British Orthodox Church which is independent Oriental Orthodox denomination since 2015

 

Glastonbury has a particular significance for members of the Baháʼí Faith in that Wellesley Tudor Pole, founder of the Chalice Well Trust, was one of the earliest and most prominent adherents of this faith in the United Kingdom.

 

The local football team is Glastonbury F.C. They joined the Western Football League in 1919 and have won the Western Football League title three times in their history. The club are now playing in the Somerset County Football League.

 

Glastonbury Cricket Club previously competed in the West of England Premier League, one of the ECB Premier Leagues, the highest level of recreational cricket in England and Wales. The club plays at the Tor Leisure Ground, which used to stage Somerset County Cricket Club first-class fixtures.

 

The town is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

 

In a 1904 novel by Charles Whistler entitled A Prince of Cornwall Glastonbury in the days of Ine of Wessex is portrayed. It is also a setting in the Warlord Chronicles, a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. Modern fiction has also used Glastonbury as a setting including The Age of Misrule series of books by Mark Chadbourn in which the Watchmen appear, a group selected from Anglican priests in and around Glastonbury to safeguard knowledge of a gate to the Otherworld on top of Glastonbury Tor. John Cowper Powys's novel A Glastonbury Romance is set in Glastonbury and is concerned with the Grail. The historical mystery novel Grave Goods by Diana Norman (writing under the pen name Ariana Frankin) is set in Glastonbury just after the abbey fire and concerns the supposed graves of Arthur and Guinevere, as well as featuring other landmarks such as the Tor.

 

The Children's World charity grew out of the festival and is based in the town. It is known internationally (as Children's World International). It was set up by Arabella Churchill in 1981 to provide drama participation and creative play and to work creatively in educational settings, providing social and emotional benefits for all children, particularly those with special needs. Children's World International is the sister charity of Children's World and was started in 1999 to work with children in the Balkans, in conjunction with Balkan Sunflowers and Save the Children. They also run the Glastonbury Children's Festival each August.

 

The local Brass Band is Glastonbury Brass which is currently placed in the first section for the West of England area. The band was founded in 2017 when the old Yeovil Town Band relocated after running into financial difficulty following a "notice to quit" on its rehearsal facility in September 2016. The band is featured twice on the Haiku Salut album There Is No Elsewhere (2018) and can be heard on the tracks Cold To Crack The Stones and The More And Moreness. In February 2020, the band was involved in the launch of Johnny Mars's "Dare to Dream" project aimed at raising awareness of the effects mankind is having on the world.

 

Glastonbury is the final venue for the annual November West Country Carnival.

 

Glastonbury has been described as a New Age community where communities have grown up to include people with New Age beliefs.

 

The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926. The festivals were founded by English socialist composer Rutland Boughton and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopian principles. With strong Arthurian connections and historic and prehistoric associations, Glastonbury was chosen to host the festivals.

 

The more recent Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, founded in 1970, is now the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. Although it is named after Glastonbury, it is actually held at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town of Glastonbury. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km2), had over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. The festival has spawned a range of other work including the 1972 film Glastonbury Fayre and album, 1996 film Glastonbury the Movie and the 2005 DVD Glastonbury Anthems.

 

Glastonbury has been the birthplace or home to many notable people. Peter King, 1st Baron King was the recorder of Glastonbury in 1705. Thomas Bramwell Welch the discoverer of the pasteurisation process to prevent the fermentation of grape juice was born in Glastonbury in 1825. The judge John Creighton represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770 to 1775. The fossil collector Thomas Hawkins lived in the town during the 19th century.

 

The religious connections and mythology of the town have also attracted notable authors. The occultist and writer Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth) lived and is buried in Glastonbury. Her old house was home to the writer and historian Geoffrey Ashe, who was known for his works on local legends. Frederick Bligh Bond, archaeologist and writer. Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker, and spiritual teacher lived in Glastonbury during the 1980s. Eileen Caddy was at a sanctuary in Glastonbury when she first claimed to have heard the "voice of God" while meditating. Her subsequent instructions from the "voice" directed her to take on Sheena Govan as her spiritual teacher, and became a spiritual teacher and new age author, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community.

 

Popular entertainment and literature is also represented amongst the population. English composer Rutland Boughton moved from Birmingham to Glastonbury in 1911 and established the country's first national annual summer school of music. Gary Stringer, lead singer of rock band Reef, was a local along with other members of the band. The juggler Haggis McLeod and his late wife, Arabella Churchill, one of the founders of the Glastonbury Festival, lived in the town. The conductor Charles Hazlewood lives locally and hosts the "Play the Field" music festival on his farm nearby. Bill Bunbury moved on from Glastonbury to become a writer, radio broadcaster, and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

Athletes and sports players from Glastonbury include cricketers Cyril Baily in 1880, George Burrough in 1907, and Eustace Bisgood in 1878. The footballer Peter Spiring was born in Glastonbury in 1950. Formula 1 driver Lando Norris grew up in Glastonbury.

 

Twin towns

France Bretenoux, France

Greece Patmos, Greece

Ethiopia Lalibela, Ethiopia

 

Freedom of the Town

Michael Eavis: 3 May 2022. The founder of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival has been made a Freeman of Glastonbury. Born in 1935, the celebrated dairy farmer held his first Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1970. 52 years later, Mr. Eavis has been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

 

The Key of Avalon

This award was created in 2022 by the Glastonbury Town Council. The first recipient was Prem Rawat, international peace advocate and author, who spoke at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.

 

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

 

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset.

 

The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland, and the north-east and west of the county are hilly. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds AONB, all of the Mendip Hills AONB, and a small part of Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB; the west contains the Quantock Hills AONB, a majority of Exmoor National Park, and part of the Blackdown Hills AONB. The main rivers in the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.

 

There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals.

 

Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.

 

Following the Roman Empire's invasion of southern Britain, the mining of lead and silver in the Mendip Hills provided a basis for local industry and commerce. Bath became the site of a major Roman fort and city, the remains of which can still be seen. During the Early Medieval period Somerset was the scene of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and first the Britons and later the Danes. In this period it was ruled first by various kings of Wessex, and later by kings of England. Following the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy by the Normans in 1066, castles were built in Somerset.

 

Expansion of the population and settlements in the county continued during the Tudor and more recent periods. Agriculture and coal mining expanded until the 18th century, although other industries declined during the industrial revolution. In modern times the population has grown, particularly in the seaside towns, notably Weston-super-Mare. Agriculture continues to be a major business, if no longer a major employer because of mechanisation. Light industries are based in towns such as Bridgwater and Yeovil. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet manufacture cider, although the acreage of apple orchards is less than it once was.

 

The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods saw hunter-gatherers move into the region of Somerset. There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the area from around 500,000 years ago. There is still some doubt about whether the artefacts are of human origin but they have been dated within Oxygen Isotope Stage 13 (524,000 – 478,000 BP). Other experts suggest that "many of the bone-rich Middle Pleistocene deposits belong to a single but climatically variable interglacial that succeeded the Cromerian, perhaps about 500,000 years ago. Detailed analysis of the origin and modification of the flint artefacts leads to the conclusion that the assemblage was probably a product of geomorphological processes rather than human work, but a single cut-marked bone suggests a human presence." Animal bones and artefacts unearthed in the 1980s at Westbury-sub-Mendip, in Somerset, have shown evidence of early human activity approximately 700,000 years ago.

 

Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man, came to Somerset during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of occupation of four Mendip caves 35,000 to 30,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, it is probable that Somerset was deserted as the area experienced tundra conditions. Evidence was found in Gough's Cave of deposits of human bone dating from around 12,500 years ago. The bones were defleshed and probably ritually buried though perhaps related to cannibalism being practised in the area at the time or making skull cups or storage containers. Somerset was one of the first areas of future England settled following the end of Younger Dryas phase of the last ice age c. 8000 BC. Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge. He is Britain's oldest complete human skeleton. The remains date from about 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. Somerset is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from about 6000 BCE; Mesolithic artefacts have been found in more than 70 locations. Mendip caves were used as burial places, with between 50 and 100 skeletons being found in Aveline's Hole. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BCE, there is evidence of farming.

 

At the end of the last ice age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but later the sea level rose, particularly between 1220 and 900 BC and between 800 and 470 BCE, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels became flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The county has prehistoric burial mounds (such as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow), stone rows (such as the circles at Stanton Drew and Priddy) and settlement sites. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has come both from the upland areas, such as in Mendip caves, and from the low land areas such as the Somerset Levels. Dry points in the latter such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement with wooden trackways between them. There were also "lake villages" in the marsh such as those at Glastonbury Lake Village and Meare. One of the oldest dated human road work in Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BC, partially on the route of the even earlier Post Track.

 

There is evidence of Exmoor's human occupation from Mesolithic times onwards. In the Neolithic period people started to manage animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act purely as hunter gatherers. It is also likely that extraction and smelting of mineral ores to make tools, weapons, containers and ornaments in bronze and then iron started in the late Neolithic and into the Bronze and Iron Ages.

 

The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle, Worlebury Camp and Ham Hill. The age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but is believed to be from the Neolithic period. There is evidence of mining on the Mendip Hills back into the late Bronze Age when there were technological changes in metal working indicated by the use of lead. There are numerous "hill forts", such as Small Down Knoll, Solsbury Hill, Dolebury Warren and Burledge Hill, which seem to have had domestic purposes, not just a defensive role. They generally seem to have been occupied intermittently from the Bronze Age onward, some, such as Cadbury Camp at South Cadbury, being refurbished during different eras. Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber at Williton which is composed of three round barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow.

 

The Iron Age tribes of later Somerset were the Dobunni in north Somerset, Durotriges in south Somerset and Dumnonii in west Somerset. The first and second produced coins, the finds of which allows their tribal areas to be suggested, but the latter did not. All three had a Celtic culture and language. However, Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills, include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring, Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp.

 

Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from 47 AD to about 409 AD. However, the end was not abrupt and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century.

 

Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor Vespasian. The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of 60–61 AD. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 AD.

 

The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the potential of the Mendip Hills. A great deal of the attraction of the lead mines may have been the potential for the extraction of silver.

 

Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester. The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning ditch). The Fosse Way ran through Bath, Shepton Mallet, Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster. The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Small towns and trading ports were set up, such as Camerton and Combwich. The larger towns decayed in the latter part of the period, though the smaller ones appear to have decayed less. In the latter part of the period, Ilchester seems to have been a "civitas" capital and Bath may also have been one. Particularly to the east of the River Parrett, villas were constructed. However, only a few Roman sites have been found to the west of the river. The villas have produced important mosaics and artifacts. Cemeteries have been found outside the Roman towns of Somerset and by Roman temples such as that at Lamyatt. Romano-British farming settlements, such as those at Catsgore and Sigwells, have been found in Somerset. There was salt production on the Somerset Levels near Highbridge and quarrying took place near Bath, where the Roman Baths gave their name to Bath.

 

Excavations carried out before the flooding of Chew Valley Lake also uncovered Roman remains, indicating agricultural and industrial activity from the second half of the 1st century until the 3rd century AD. The finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets (the first in the UK) with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke. In October 2001 the West Bagborough Hoard of 4th century Roman silver was discovered in West Bagborough. The 681 coins included two denarii from the early 2nd century and 8 Miliarense and 671 Siliqua all dating to the period AD 337 – 367. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors Constantius II and Julian and derive from a range of mints including Arles and Lyons in France, Trier in Germany and Rome.

 

In April 2010, the Frome Hoard, one of the largest-ever hoards of Roman coins discovered in Britain, was found by a metal detectorist. The hoard of 52,500 coins dated from the 3rd century AD and was found buried in a field near Frome, in a jar 14 inches (36 cm) below the surface. The coins were excavated by archaeologists from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

 

This is the period from about 409 AD to the start of Saxon political control, which was mainly in the late 7th century, though they are said to have captured the Bath area in 577 AD. Initially the Britons of Somerset seem to have continued much as under the Romans but without the imperial taxation and markets. There was then a period of civil war in Britain though it is not known how this affected Somerset. The Western Wandsdyke may have been constructed in this period but archaeological data shows that it was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD. The ditch is on the north side, so presumably it was used by the Celts as a defence against Saxons encroaching from the upper Thames Valley. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, with victories at Bradford-on-Avon (in the Avon Gap in the Wansdyke) in 65

Laura. Like Gladstone this town has around 600 people. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the school opening in 1873, the Wesleyan Church in 1873 and the brewery in 1876. A butter factory opened in 1898. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now a museum), the old post office and police station and the school. The town’s claim to fame is that the poet C.J Dennis was born in Laura in 1876 but he lived in many SA towns before he left for Victoria. The old brewery was sited on the banks of the Rocky River as a reliable water supply was necessary for successful breweries. Not far away in the hills of the Southern Flinders Ranges is Beetaloo Reservoir which was constructed between 1888 and 1890 to provide fresh water for the copper triangle towns of Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo. The reservoir has been increased in capacity in 1927 and again in 1979. The town also had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the foundries at Gawler and operated into the 1930s. During World War Two Laura had a flax mill to produce canvas. Crops of flax were grown from Wirrabara to Laura. It closed in 1947. As early as 1891 Laura had a dairy factory to process milk and make butter, some of which was railed to Broken Hill.

 

Laura has been home to Golden North ice cream since 1923. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business, and they have since expanded production, including the famous honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006.

 

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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 a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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,[5] 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.

 

During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track, west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track, dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older.

 

Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by a wooden palisade. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay.

 

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

 

Glæstyngabyrig. When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from a Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of the village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir.

 

Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which the monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead.

 

William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda.

 

Centwine (676–685) was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey. King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis, the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086.

 

To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century.

 

Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. It was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

 

In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of the building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed, and a scheduled monument. Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building.

 

During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII, were camped at Glastonbury.

 

In 1693 Glastenbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of the settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal.

 

The Somerset town's charter of incorporation was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right.

 

By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from the new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966.

 

In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom.

 

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

 

Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in the town's floral displays.

 

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.

 

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

 

An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere.

 

Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to the Queen.

 

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain, but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well.

 

Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as a child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, "Jerusalem".

 

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.

 

The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall, Magdalene Street. The town hall was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building.

 

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough.

 

The town's retained fire station is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service. There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005.

 

There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total the same population as is mentioned above.

 

Glastonbury falls within the Wells constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Conservative, James Heappey, who replaced Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election.

 

Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos, and Lalibela, Ethiopia.

 

The walk up the Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point, 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves", i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat. The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor. The lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age.

 

The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana. 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 name Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend.

 

Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street. At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

 

Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat, ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change, while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in the UK.

 

The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern.

 

The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to the north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle.

 

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

 

Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage. As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops.

 

The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands, which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of the old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training.

 

According to the Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II.

 

The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials, by Judge Jeffreys. It now serves as a museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre.

 

The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey.

 

The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to Glastonbury Abbey, which is open to visitors. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The front of the 3-storey building is divided into 3 tiers of panels with traceried heads. Above the right of centre entrance are 3 carved panels with arms of the Abbey and Edward IV.

 

The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a museum of the social and agricultural history of Somerset, housed in buildings surrounding a 14th-century barn once belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It was used for the storage of arable produce, particularly wheat and rye, from the abbey's home farm of approximately 524 acres (2.12 km2). Threshing and winnowing would also have been carried out in the barn, which was built from local shelly limestone with thick timbers supporting the stone tiling of the roof. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.

 

The Chalice Well is a holy well at the foot of the Tor, covered by a wooden well-cover with wrought-iron decoration made in 1919. The natural spring has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 L; 30,000 US gal) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxygenated at the surface and is precipitated, providing chalybeate waters. As with the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities. The well is about 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, with two underground chambers at its bottom. It is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolised by Glastonbury Tor (however, some consider Glastonbury Tor to be a 'hugh bounteous female figure'). As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including modern Pagans. The well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.

 

Just a short distance from the Chalice Well site, across a road known as Well House Lane, can be found the "White Spring", where a temple has been created in the 21st century. Whilst the waters of the Chalice Well are touched red with iron, the water of the latter is white with calcite. Some people consider the red water of Chalice Well to have male properties, whilst the white water of White Spring has female qualities. Both springs rise from caverns underneath the Tor and it is claimed that both have healing in their flow.

 

The building now used as the White Spring Temple was originally a Victorian-built well house, erected by the local water board in 1872. Around that time, an outbreak of cholera in the area caused great concern and the natural caves were dug out, and a stone collection chamber was constructed to ensure the flow of a quality water supply. Study of the flow of water into the collection chamber has shown that the builders also tapped into other springs, besides the White Spring and judging from the high iron content of one of these springs, it appears that a small offshoot of Chalice Well finds its way under Well House Lane to emerge beside the White Spring. However, after building the reservoir, the water board soon discovered that the high calciferous content of the water caused pipes to block and by the end of the 19th century water was piped into Glastonbury from out of town. After lying derelict for many years, the water board sold off the well house, which is now maintained by a group of volunteers as a "water temple". On the outside of the building is a tap where visitors and locals can collect the water of the White Spring.

 

The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles (23 km) through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol Channel in the early 19th century, but it became uneconomic with the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

 

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box. The site is now a timber yard for a local company. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the entrance.

 

The nearest railway station is at Castle Cary but there is no direct bus route linking it to Glastonbury. There are convenient bus connections between Glastonbury and the railway stations at Bristol Temple Meads (over an hour travelling time) and at Taunton. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.

 

The main road in the town is the A39 which passes through Glastonbury from Wells connecting the town with Street and the M5 motorway. The other roads around the town are small and run across the levels generally following the drainage ditches. Local bus services are provided by Buses of Somerset (part of First), First West of England, Frome Bus & Libra Travel. The main routes are to Bristol via Wells, to Bridgwater, to Yeovil via Street and to Taunton.There is also a coach service to London Victoria provided by Berrys.

 

Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

 

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 102.4 FM, Worthy FM on 87.7 FM which broadcast during The Glastonbury Festival and GWS Radio on 107.1 FM, a community radio station.

 

The town’s local newspapers are the Mid Somerset Series, Western Daily Press, Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

 

There are several infant and primary schools in Glastonbury and the surrounding villages. Secondary education is provided by St Dunstan's School. In 2017, the school had 327 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years. It is named after St. Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD. The school was built in 1958 with major building work, at a cost of £1.2 million, in 1998, adding the science block and the sports hall. It was designated as a specialist Arts College in 2004, and the £800,000 spent at this time paid for the Performing Arts studio and facilities to support students with special educational needs. Tor School is a pupil referral unit based on Beckery New Road, which caters for 14-16-year-old students who have been excluded from mainstream education, or who have been referred for medical reasons.

 

Strode College in Street provides academic and vocational courses for those aged 16–18 and adult education. A tertiary institution and further education college, most of the courses it offers are A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides some university-level courses, and is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

 

Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in pre-Christian times. The abbey was founded by Britons, and dates to at least the early 7th century, although later medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron's version of the Holy Grail story and to Glastonbury's connection to King Arthur, which dates at least to the early 12th century. William of Malmesbury called this structure "the oldest church in England," and thenceforth it was known simply as the Old Church, inasmuch as it had existed for many years prior to the 7th century as a Celtic religious centre. In his "History of the English Church and People," written in the early eighth century, the Venerable Bede provides details regarding its construction to early missionaries. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658. King Ine of Wessex enriched the endowment of the community of monks already established at Glastonbury. He is said to have directed that a stone church be built in 712. The Abbey Church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Saint Dunstan, the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life. He instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury and built new cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel, which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186.

 

The abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved set in 36 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland. It is approached by the Abbey Gatehouse which was built in the mid-14th century and completely restored in 1810.

 

There is also a strong Irish connection to Glastonbury as it is said to be along a route of pilgrimage from Ireland to Rome. It is supposed that St. Patrick and St. Brigid both came to the area and both Saints are documented by William of Malmesbury as having done so. There are Chapels named after them too - St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury is within the Abbey grounds and St. Brigid's Chapel is at Beckery (Little Ireland).

 

The Church of St Benedict was rebuilt by Abbot Richard Beere in about 1520. This is now an Anglican church and is linked with the parishes of St John's Church in Glastonbury and St Mary's & All Saints Church in the village of Meare as a joint benefice.

 

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the current Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The church is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements and at 134½ feet (about 41 metres), is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower, possibly of Saxon origin, 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. The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

In the centuries that followed the Reformation, many religious denominations came to Glastonbury to establish chapels and meeting houses. For such a relatively small town, Glastonbury has a remarkably diverse history of Christian places of worship, further enriched by the fact that several of these movements saw break-away factions, typically setting up new meeting places as a result of doctrinal disagreements, leaving behind them a legacy which would require a highly specialized degree of study in order to chart their respective histories and places of practice. Amongst their number have been Puritans/Undetermined Protestants, Quakers, Independents, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Salvationists, Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals.

 

The United Reformed Church on the High Street was built in 1814 and altered in 1898. It stands on the site of the Ship Inn where meetings were held during the 18th century. It is Grade II listed.

 

Glastonbury Methodist Church on Lambrook Street was built in 1843 and has a galleried interior, typical of a non-conformist chapel of that period, but an unusual number of stained glass windows. Close by the front of the church is an ancient pond, which was later covered to form a brick-arched reservoir. This is mentioned in property deeds of 1821, and is still accessible, containing approximately 31,500 gallons of water.

 

The Methodist Church on Lambrook street was originally the Glastonbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built on Northload Street in 1844, with an adjoining house added for a minister in 1869. This chapel was closed in 1968, since which time it has had a number of different uses, being described in 2007 as the Maitreya Monastery, prior to which it had been the Archangel Michael Soul Therapy Centre.

 

The Bove Town Gospel Hall has been a place of worship in the town since at least 1889, when it was listed as a mission of the Plymouth Brethren. Jehovah's Witnesses originally occupied a Kingdom Hall on Archer's Way from 1942. This transferred to Church Lane in 1964, and subsequently to its present site on Old Wells Road. The Gospel Hall was registered for the solemnizing of marriages in 1964

 

The Catholic Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury was built, on land near to the Abbey, in 1939. A statue based on a 14th-century metal seal was blessed in 1955 and crowned in 1965 restoring the Marian shrine that had been in the Abbey prior to the reformation. The Shrine is now the home of the Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery founded in August 2019.

 

The Glastonbury Order of Druids was formed on Mayday 1988.

 

Sufism has been long established in Glastonbury. Zikrs are held weekly in private homes, and on the first Sunday of every month a zikr is held at St Margaret's Chapel in Magdalene Street. A Sufi charity shop was established in Glastonbury in 1999, and supports missionary work in Africa. This shop was opened after Sheikh Nazim came to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. Here he declared, "This is the spiritual heart of England ... It is from here that the spiritual new age will begin and to here that Jesus will return".

 

The pagan Glastonbury Goddess Temple was founded in 2002 and registered as a place of worship the following year. It is self-described as the first temple of its kind to exist in Europe in over a thousand years.

 

In April 2012, it was reported by The Guardian newspaper that, according to the Pilgrim Reception Centre in the town, Glastonbury had around seventy different faith groups. Some of these groups attended a special ceremony to celebrate this diversity, held in the Chalice Well Gardens on 21 April of that year.

 

The 22nd Jagannatha Ratha-yatra Krishna Festival took place in Glastonbury on Sunday 4 October 2015. Devotees of the Krishna Consciousness movement travelled to the town from London, Bath, Bristol and elsewhere to join with locals in a procession and Kirtan.

 

Glastonbury also headquarters the British Orthodox Church which is independent Oriental Orthodox denomination since 2015

 

Glastonbury has a particular significance for members of the Baháʼí Faith in that Wellesley Tudor Pole, founder of the Chalice Well Trust, was one of the earliest and most prominent adherents of this faith in the United Kingdom.

 

The local football team is Glastonbury F.C. They joined the Western Football League in 1919 and have won the Western Football League title three times in their history. The club are now playing in the Somerset County Football League.

 

Glastonbury Cricket Club previously competed in the West of England Premier League, one of the ECB Premier Leagues, the highest level of recreational cricket in England and Wales. The club plays at the Tor Leisure Ground, which used to stage Somerset County Cricket Club first-class fixtures.

 

The town is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

 

In a 1904 novel by Charles Whistler entitled A Prince of Cornwall Glastonbury in the days of Ine of Wessex is portrayed. It is also a setting in the Warlord Chronicles, a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. Modern fiction has also used Glastonbury as a setting including The Age of Misrule series of books by Mark Chadbourn in which the Watchmen appear, a group selected from Anglican priests in and around Glastonbury to safeguard knowledge of a gate to the Otherworld on top of Glastonbury Tor. John Cowper Powys's novel A Glastonbury Romance is set in Glastonbury and is concerned with the Grail. The historical mystery novel Grave Goods by Diana Norman (writing under the pen name Ariana Frankin) is set in Glastonbury just after the abbey fire and concerns the supposed graves of Arthur and Guinevere, as well as featuring other landmarks such as the Tor.

 

The Children's World charity grew out of the festival and is based in the town. It is known internationally (as Children's World International). It was set up by Arabella Churchill in 1981 to provide drama participation and creative play and to work creatively in educational settings, providing social and emotional benefits for all children, particularly those with special needs. Children's World International is the sister charity of Children's World and was started in 1999 to work with children in the Balkans, in conjunction with Balkan Sunflowers and Save the Children. They also run the Glastonbury Children's Festival each August.

 

The local Brass Band is Glastonbury Brass which is currently placed in the first section for the West of England area. The band was founded in 2017 when the old Yeovil Town Band relocated after running into financial difficulty following a "notice to quit" on its rehearsal facility in September 2016. The band is featured twice on the Haiku Salut album There Is No Elsewhere (2018) and can be heard on the tracks Cold To Crack The Stones and The More And Moreness. In February 2020, the band was involved in the launch of Johnny Mars's "Dare to Dream" project aimed at raising awareness of the effects mankind is having on the world.

 

Glastonbury is the final venue for the annual November West Country Carnival.

 

Glastonbury has been described as a New Age community where communities have grown up to include people with New Age beliefs.

 

The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926. The festivals were founded by English socialist composer Rutland Boughton and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopian principles. With strong Arthurian connections and historic and prehistoric associations, Glastonbury was chosen to host the festivals.

 

The more recent Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, founded in 1970, is now the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. Although it is named after Glastonbury, it is actually held at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town of Glastonbury. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km2), had over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. The festival has spawned a range of other work including the 1972 film Glastonbury Fayre and album, 1996 film Glastonbury the Movie and the 2005 DVD Glastonbury Anthems.

 

Glastonbury has been the birthplace or home to many notable people. Peter King, 1st Baron King was the recorder of Glastonbury in 1705. Thomas Bramwell Welch the discoverer of the pasteurisation process to prevent the fermentation of grape juice was born in Glastonbury in 1825. The judge John Creighton represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770 to 1775. The fossil collector Thomas Hawkins lived in the town during the 19th century.

 

The religious connections and mythology of the town have also attracted notable authors. The occultist and writer Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth) lived and is buried in Glastonbury. Her old house was home to the writer and historian Geoffrey Ashe, who was known for his works on local legends. Frederick Bligh Bond, archaeologist and writer. Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker, and spiritual teacher lived in Glastonbury during the 1980s. Eileen Caddy was at a sanctuary in Glastonbury when she first claimed to have heard the "voice of God" while meditating. Her subsequent instructions from the "voice" directed her to take on Sheena Govan as her spiritual teacher, and became a spiritual teacher and new age author, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community.

 

Popular entertainment and literature is also represented amongst the population. English composer Rutland Boughton moved from Birmingham to Glastonbury in 1911 and established the country's first national annual summer school of music. Gary Stringer, lead singer of rock band Reef, was a local along with other members of the band. The juggler Haggis McLeod and his late wife, Arabella Churchill, one of the founders of the Glastonbury Festival, lived in the town. The conductor Charles Hazlewood lives locally and hosts the "Play the Field" music festival on his farm nearby. Bill Bunbury moved on from Glastonbury to become a writer, radio broadcaster, and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

Athletes and sports players from Glastonbury include cricketers Cyril Baily in 1880, George Burrough in 1907, and Eustace Bisgood in 1878. The footballer Peter Spiring was born in Glastonbury in 1950. Formula 1 driver Lando Norris grew up in Glastonbury.

 

Twin towns

France Bretenoux, France

Greece Patmos, Greece

Ethiopia Lalibela, Ethiopia

 

Freedom of the Town

Michael Eavis: 3 May 2022. The founder of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival has been made a Freeman of Glastonbury. Born in 1935, the celebrated dairy farmer held his first Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1970. 52 years later, Mr. Eavis has been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

 

The Key of Avalon

This award was created in 2022 by the Glastonbury Town Council. The first recipient was Prem Rawat, international peace advocate and author, who spoke at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.

 

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

 

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset.

 

The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland, and the north-east and west of the county are hilly. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds AONB, all of the Mendip Hills AONB, and a small part of Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB; the west contains the Quantock Hills AONB, a majority of Exmoor National Park, and part of the Blackdown Hills AONB. The main rivers in the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.

 

There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals.

 

Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.

 

Following the Roman Empire's invasion of southern Britain, the mining of lead and silver in the Mendip Hills provided a basis for local industry and commerce. Bath became the site of a major Roman fort and city, the remains of which can still be seen. During the Early Medieval period Somerset was the scene of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and first the Britons and later the Danes. In this period it was ruled first by various kings of Wessex, and later by kings of England. Following the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy by the Normans in 1066, castles were built in Somerset.

 

Expansion of the population and settlements in the county continued during the Tudor and more recent periods. Agriculture and coal mining expanded until the 18th century, although other industries declined during the industrial revolution. In modern times the population has grown, particularly in the seaside towns, notably Weston-super-Mare. Agriculture continues to be a major business, if no longer a major employer because of mechanisation. Light industries are based in towns such as Bridgwater and Yeovil. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet manufacture cider, although the acreage of apple orchards is less than it once was.

 

The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods saw hunter-gatherers move into the region of Somerset. There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the area from around 500,000 years ago. There is still some doubt about whether the artefacts are of human origin but they have been dated within Oxygen Isotope Stage 13 (524,000 – 478,000 BP). Other experts suggest that "many of the bone-rich Middle Pleistocene deposits belong to a single but climatically variable interglacial that succeeded the Cromerian, perhaps about 500,000 years ago. Detailed analysis of the origin and modification of the flint artefacts leads to the conclusion that the assemblage was probably a product of geomorphological processes rather than human work, but a single cut-marked bone suggests a human presence." Animal bones and artefacts unearthed in the 1980s at Westbury-sub-Mendip, in Somerset, have shown evidence of early human activity approximately 700,000 years ago.

 

Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man, came to Somerset during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of occupation of four Mendip caves 35,000 to 30,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, it is probable that Somerset was deserted as the area experienced tundra conditions. Evidence was found in Gough's Cave of deposits of human bone dating from around 12,500 years ago. The bones were defleshed and probably ritually buried though perhaps related to cannibalism being practised in the area at the time or making skull cups or storage containers. Somerset was one of the first areas of future England settled following the end of Younger Dryas phase of the last ice age c. 8000 BC. Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge. He is Britain's oldest complete human skeleton. The remains date from about 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. Somerset is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from about 6000 BCE; Mesolithic artefacts have been found in more than 70 locations. Mendip caves were used as burial places, with between 50 and 100 skeletons being found in Aveline's Hole. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BCE, there is evidence of farming.

 

At the end of the last ice age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but later the sea level rose, particularly between 1220 and 900 BC and between 800 and 470 BCE, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels became flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The county has prehistoric burial mounds (such as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow), stone rows (such as the circles at Stanton Drew and Priddy) and settlement sites. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has come both from the upland areas, such as in Mendip caves, and from the low land areas such as the Somerset Levels. Dry points in the latter such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement with wooden trackways between them. There were also "lake villages" in the marsh such as those at Glastonbury Lake Village and Meare. One of the oldest dated human road work in Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BC, partially on the route of the even earlier Post Track.

 

There is evidence of Exmoor's human occupation from Mesolithic times onwards. In the Neolithic period people started to manage animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act purely as hunter gatherers. It is also likely that extraction and smelting of mineral ores to make tools, weapons, containers and ornaments in bronze and then iron started in the late Neolithic and into the Bronze and Iron Ages.

 

The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle, Worlebury Camp and Ham Hill. The age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but is believed to be from the Neolithic period. There is evidence of mining on the Mendip Hills back into the late Bronze Age when there were technological changes in metal working indicated by the use of lead. There are numerous "hill forts", such as Small Down Knoll, Solsbury Hill, Dolebury Warren and Burledge Hill, which seem to have had domestic purposes, not just a defensive role. They generally seem to have been occupied intermittently from the Bronze Age onward, some, such as Cadbury Camp at South Cadbury, being refurbished during different eras. Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber at Williton which is composed of three round barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow.

 

The Iron Age tribes of later Somerset were the Dobunni in north Somerset, Durotriges in south Somerset and Dumnonii in west Somerset. The first and second produced coins, the finds of which allows their tribal areas to be suggested, but the latter did not. All three had a Celtic culture and language. However, Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills, include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring, Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp.

 

Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from 47 AD to about 409 AD. However, the end was not abrupt and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century.

 

Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor Vespasian. The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of 60–61 AD. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 AD.

 

The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the potential of the Mendip Hills. A great deal of the attraction of the lead mines may have been the potential for the extraction of silver.

 

Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester. The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning ditch). The Fosse Way ran through Bath, Shepton Mallet, Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster. The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Small towns and trading ports were set up, such as Camerton and Combwich. The larger towns decayed in the latter part of the period, though the smaller ones appear to have decayed less. In the latter part of the period, Ilchester seems to have been a "civitas" capital and Bath may also have been one. Particularly to the east of the River Parrett, villas were constructed. However, only a few Roman sites have been found to the west of the river. The villas have produced important mosaics and artifacts. Cemeteries have been found outside the Roman towns of Somerset and by Roman temples such as that at Lamyatt. Romano-British farming settlements, such as those at Catsgore and Sigwells, have been found in Somerset. There was salt production on the Somerset Levels near Highbridge and quarrying took place near Bath, where the Roman Baths gave their name to Bath.

 

Excavations carried out before the flooding of Chew Valley Lake also uncovered Roman remains, indicating agricultural and industrial activity from the second half of the 1st century until the 3rd century AD. The finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets (the first in the UK) with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke. In October 2001 the West Bagborough Hoard of 4th century Roman silver was discovered in West Bagborough. The 681 coins included two denarii from the early 2nd century and 8 Miliarense and 671 Siliqua all dating to the period AD 337 – 367. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors Constantius II and Julian and derive from a range of mints including Arles and Lyons in France, Trier in Germany and Rome.

 

In April 2010, the Frome Hoard, one of the largest-ever hoards of Roman coins discovered in Britain, was found by a metal detectorist. The hoard of 52,500 coins dated from the 3rd century AD and was found buried in a field near Frome, in a jar 14 inches (36 cm) below the surface. The coins were excavated by archaeologists from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

 

This is the period from about 409 AD to the start of Saxon political control, which was mainly in the late 7th century, though they are said to have captured the Bath area in 577 AD. Initially the Britons of Somerset seem to have continued much as under the Romans but without the imperial taxation and markets. There was then a period of civil war in Britain though it is not known how this affected Somerset. The Western Wandsdyke may have been constructed in this period but archaeological data shows that it was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD. The ditch is on the north side, so presumably it was used by the Celts as a defence against Saxons encroaching from the upper Thames Valley. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, with victories at Bradford-on-Avon (in the Avon Gap in the Wansdyke) in 65

Excerpt from here from a now defunct blog:

 

Kirby and West's brightly painted electric milk floats are still a familiar sight around Leicester. The sound of a solid tyred float, with it's battery fuelled motor whining it's way up the street first thing in the morning is still a regular sound. Times have changed though, most folk buy their milk from the local mini-mart in plastic bottles and compared to yesterday, the milk float only stops at a small number of houses along the street; it's easier to pay the cashier in a shop using a debit card, than it is to await the milkman's Saturday morning knock on the front door and to have cash at the ready for weekly payments.

 

Kirby and West have been in business since 1861 and soon after developing into profitable dairy. In 1956, 17,000 gallons of milk were being processed daily. As late as 1980, new facilities capable of washing 24,000 bottles an hour being commissioned. In 2007 however, milk processing, bottling and carton filling was deemed unprofitable. Today the company still continues to supply dairy products and other goods to local communities and businesses.

 

One can imagine the daily hustle and bustle of the dairy business of yesteryear. Local farmers would milk the cows during the early hours and leave full churns on raised platforms outside their farms. The pickup lorry would arrive, load the churns and take them to the local rural railway station where they would be put in a steam hauled train enroute for Leicester. Pint sized bottles, after making their way around the dairy's washing plant, would be filled with cold pasteurised and sterilised milk, sealed with a top, deposited into crates and loaded onto the battery trucks. With a rattle and a chatter of bouncing bottles, the floats would make their way through the streets of the city and a milkman would chink the bottles as he brought them up the drive to place them on the doorstep. We remember the bottle tops pecked by the birds that loved to get the cream, or the cold mornings when the milk froze and pushed a tower of white ice out through the neck of the bottle. Yet for all this romantic thought, and despite feeling that it would be somewhat sad if the milk floats disappeared, we still prefer to make our dairy purchases elsewhere.

 

www.kirbyandwest.co.uk/

 

Registration: FBC72C

Make: KIRBY & WEST

Model: UNKNOWN

Cylinder capacity (cc): 0cc

Date of first registration: 10 December 1965

Year of manufacture: 1965

Description:

Fuel Type: Electric

CO2 (g/km): Not Available

Laura. Like Gladstone this town has around 600 people. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the school opening in 1873, the Wesleyan Church in 1873 and the brewery in 1876. A butter factory opened in 1898. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now a museum), the old post office and police station and the school. The town’s claim to fame is that the poet C.J Dennis was born in Laura in 1876 but he lived in many SA towns before he left for Victoria. The old brewery was sited on the banks of the Rocky River as a reliable water supply was necessary for successful breweries. Not far away in the hills of the Southern Flinders Ranges is Beetaloo Reservoir which was constructed between 1888 and 1890 to provide fresh water for the copper triangle towns of Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo. The reservoir has been increased in capacity in 1927 and again in 1979. The town also had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the foundries at Gawler and operated into the 1930s. During World War Two Laura had a flax mill to produce canvas. Crops of flax were grown from Wirrabara to Laura. It closed in 1947. As early as 1891 Laura had a dairy factory to process milk and make butter, some of which was railed to Broken Hill.

 

Laura has been home to Golden North ice cream since 1923. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business, and they have since expanded production, including the famous honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006.

 

Opened this yesterday to go with dinner, will drink over two days.

 

Can confirm that 2022 was a vintage year for Chimay.

 

9%

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

Chimay Grande Reserve is a full bodied and warming, chocolaty-bitter, dark Trappist. Best served in a branded chalice glass, with or without the sediment. Good with chocolate and beef.

 

Chimay Blue Cap, "baptized' Grande Reserve in 750 ml bottles is a dark Trappist beer with a powerful aroma, the complex flavour of which improves across the years. Chimay Blue is principally distinguished by its character of a strong dark beer. This is a beer whose fragrance of fresh yeast with a light, flowery rosy touch is especially pleasant. Its flavour, noticed when tasting it, only accentuates the pleasant sensations perceived in the aroma , while revealing a light but pleasant touch of roasted malt. This top fermented Trappist beer, refermented in the bottle, is not pasteurised.

 

www.beermerchants.com/chimay-grande-reserve

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office in 1871 meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared rather than the Hundred of Booyoolee. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura subdivided but it was soon amalgamated into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was built in 1883 to the design of Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and was then immediately re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced and marketed the BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction with the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

This is an early and incredibly small dairy salesman lapel badge from the 1920s made by the renowned American maker LG Balfour from Attleboro, Massachusetts. Still on its original backing card the Abbotts Dairies badge has a strong 3D profile, with both cow and employee as the focal point. The notion of meeting a 'sales quota' is illustrated by the employee marking off a sales target and this is underpinned by the scrolled copy, 'ABBOTTS Honor Salesman'.

 

The badge signifies a time in 1920s USA when routine pasteurisation of milk became widespread; this was designed to minimise contamination and reduce human illnesses and was deemed a crucial breakthrough in public health. In 1924, Grade A pasteurisation became recommended federal policy and dairy companies such as Abbotts, advertised their pasteurised milk accordingly.

 

So when did Abbotts begin? In 1876, George Abbott began his dairy business from his farm in Salem County, New Jersey - initially selling bottled milk to locals and then to tourists on the Jersey Shore. The popularity of the milk was its 'freshness' and Geroge Abbott's key principle was linked to health.....'where the health of babies and little children is at stake, no effort and no expense are too great to assure pure, safe milk for them'. In the same year as George Abbott started his business, he supplied milk to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia - testimony to the quality of his dairy milk. Abbott pioneered ways of keeping milk cooler as well as developing bottles with lids to package the product.

 

Abbott quickly expanded his business and relocated to Philadelphia and within a short period he opened 16 milk stores within the city centre area. They were named Abbotts Alderney Dairies Milk Stores......and business boomed (the name 'Alderney' originates from a breed of cattle from the British Channel Island of Alderney).

 

By 1900, Abbot's Alderney Dairies Inc had corporate offices in Philadelphia, with branches in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The company grew from strength to strength; in 1919 Abbotts acquired a large ice cream business and the 1927 consolidation with Dolfinger Dairies gave way to the shortened company name of Abbotts Dairies Inc. In 1950, the company merged with Fairmount Foods of Omaha, Nebraska and the Abbotts name continued into the mid-1980s. The Abbotts dairies hit lean times during the mid 1980s and this signaled the end of the Abbotts name and its rich association with the dairy industry. The badge serves as a strong visual momento of a flourishing dairy business that specialised in milk, butter and ice cream production.

 

Photography, layout and design: Argy58

 

(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a

variety of print sizes e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded

format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)

 

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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 a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury.

 

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town 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,[5] 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.

 

During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track, west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison. Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track, dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older.

 

Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by a wooden palisade. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay.

 

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

 

Glæstyngabyrig. When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from a Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of the village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir.

 

Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which the monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead.

 

William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda.

 

Centwine (676–685) was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey. King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis, the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086.

 

To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century.

 

Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. It was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

 

In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of the building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed, and a scheduled monument. Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building.

 

During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

 

During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII, were camped at Glastonbury.

 

In 1693 Glastenbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of the settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal.

 

The Somerset town's charter of incorporation was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right.

 

By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from the new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966.

 

In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom.

 

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

 

Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in the town's floral displays.

 

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.

 

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

 

An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere.

 

Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to the Queen.

 

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War. A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain, but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well.

 

Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as a child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, "Jerusalem".

 

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.

 

The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall, Magdalene Street. The town hall was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building.

 

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough.

 

The town's retained fire station is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service. There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005.

 

There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total the same population as is mentioned above.

 

Glastonbury falls within the Wells constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Conservative, James Heappey, who replaced Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election.

 

Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos, and Lalibela, Ethiopia.

 

The walk up the Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point, 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves", i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat. The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor. The lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age.

 

The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana. 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 name Fata Morgana is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay, who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend.

 

Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street. At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

 

Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat, ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change, while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in the UK.

 

The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern.

 

The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to the north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle.

 

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

 

Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage. As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops.

 

The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands, which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of the old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training.

 

According to the Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II.

 

The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials, by Judge Jeffreys. It now serves as a museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre.

 

The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey.

 

The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to Glastonbury Abbey, which is open to visitors. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The front of the 3-storey building is divided into 3 tiers of panels with traceried heads. Above the right of centre entrance are 3 carved panels with arms of the Abbey and Edward IV.

 

The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a museum of the social and agricultural history of Somerset, housed in buildings surrounding a 14th-century barn once belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It was used for the storage of arable produce, particularly wheat and rye, from the abbey's home farm of approximately 524 acres (2.12 km2). Threshing and winnowing would also have been carried out in the barn, which was built from local shelly limestone with thick timbers supporting the stone tiling of the roof. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.

 

The Chalice Well is a holy well at the foot of the Tor, covered by a wooden well-cover with wrought-iron decoration made in 1919. The natural spring has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 imperial gallons (110,000 L; 30,000 US gal) per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxygenated at the surface and is precipitated, providing chalybeate waters. As with the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities. The well is about 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, with two underground chambers at its bottom. It is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity, with the male symbolised by Glastonbury Tor (however, some consider Glastonbury Tor to be a 'hugh bounteous female figure'). As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including modern Pagans. The well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.

 

Just a short distance from the Chalice Well site, across a road known as Well House Lane, can be found the "White Spring", where a temple has been created in the 21st century. Whilst the waters of the Chalice Well are touched red with iron, the water of the latter is white with calcite. Some people consider the red water of Chalice Well to have male properties, whilst the white water of White Spring has female qualities. Both springs rise from caverns underneath the Tor and it is claimed that both have healing in their flow.

 

The building now used as the White Spring Temple was originally a Victorian-built well house, erected by the local water board in 1872. Around that time, an outbreak of cholera in the area caused great concern and the natural caves were dug out, and a stone collection chamber was constructed to ensure the flow of a quality water supply. Study of the flow of water into the collection chamber has shown that the builders also tapped into other springs, besides the White Spring and judging from the high iron content of one of these springs, it appears that a small offshoot of Chalice Well finds its way under Well House Lane to emerge beside the White Spring. However, after building the reservoir, the water board soon discovered that the high calciferous content of the water caused pipes to block and by the end of the 19th century water was piped into Glastonbury from out of town. After lying derelict for many years, the water board sold off the well house, which is now maintained by a group of volunteers as a "water temple". On the outside of the building is a tap where visitors and locals can collect the water of the White Spring.

 

The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles (23 km) through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol Channel in the early 19th century, but it became uneconomic with the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

 

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box. The site is now a timber yard for a local company. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the entrance.

 

The nearest railway station is at Castle Cary but there is no direct bus route linking it to Glastonbury. There are convenient bus connections between Glastonbury and the railway stations at Bristol Temple Meads (over an hour travelling time) and at Taunton. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.

 

The main road in the town is the A39 which passes through Glastonbury from Wells connecting the town with Street and the M5 motorway. The other roads around the town are small and run across the levels generally following the drainage ditches. Local bus services are provided by Buses of Somerset (part of First), First West of England, Frome Bus & Libra Travel. The main routes are to Bristol via Wells, to Bridgwater, to Yeovil via Street and to Taunton.There is also a coach service to London Victoria provided by Berrys.

 

Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

 

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 102.4 FM, Worthy FM on 87.7 FM which broadcast during The Glastonbury Festival and GWS Radio on 107.1 FM, a community radio station.

 

The town’s local newspapers are the Mid Somerset Series, Western Daily Press, Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

 

There are several infant and primary schools in Glastonbury and the surrounding villages. Secondary education is provided by St Dunstan's School. In 2017, the school had 327 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years. It is named after St. Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 AD. The school was built in 1958 with major building work, at a cost of £1.2 million, in 1998, adding the science block and the sports hall. It was designated as a specialist Arts College in 2004, and the £800,000 spent at this time paid for the Performing Arts studio and facilities to support students with special educational needs. Tor School is a pupil referral unit based on Beckery New Road, which caters for 14-16-year-old students who have been excluded from mainstream education, or who have been referred for medical reasons.

 

Strode College in Street provides academic and vocational courses for those aged 16–18 and adult education. A tertiary institution and further education college, most of the courses it offers are A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides some university-level courses, and is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

 

Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in pre-Christian times. The abbey was founded by Britons, and dates to at least the early 7th century, although later medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron's version of the Holy Grail story and to Glastonbury's connection to King Arthur, which dates at least to the early 12th century. William of Malmesbury called this structure "the oldest church in England," and thenceforth it was known simply as the Old Church, inasmuch as it had existed for many years prior to the 7th century as a Celtic religious centre. In his "History of the English Church and People," written in the early eighth century, the Venerable Bede provides details regarding its construction to early missionaries. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658. King Ine of Wessex enriched the endowment of the community of monks already established at Glastonbury. He is said to have directed that a stone church be built in 712. The Abbey Church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Saint Dunstan, the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life. He instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury and built new cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel, which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186.

 

The abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved set in 36 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland. It is approached by the Abbey Gatehouse which was built in the mid-14th century and completely restored in 1810.

 

There is also a strong Irish connection to Glastonbury as it is said to be along a route of pilgrimage from Ireland to Rome. It is supposed that St. Patrick and St. Brigid both came to the area and both Saints are documented by William of Malmesbury as having done so. There are Chapels named after them too - St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury is within the Abbey grounds and St. Brigid's Chapel is at Beckery (Little Ireland).

 

The Church of St Benedict was rebuilt by Abbot Richard Beere in about 1520. This is now an Anglican church and is linked with the parishes of St John's Church in Glastonbury and St Mary's & All Saints Church in the village of Meare as a joint benefice.

 

Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the current Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The church is laid out in a cruciform plan with an aisled nave and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttressing, panelling and battlements and at 134½ feet (about 41 metres), is the second tallest parish church tower in Somerset. Recent excavations in the nave have revealed the foundations of a large central tower, possibly of Saxon origin, 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. The interior of the church includes four 15th-century tomb-chests, some 15th-century stained glass in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse.

 

In the centuries that followed the Reformation, many religious denominations came to Glastonbury to establish chapels and meeting houses. For such a relatively small town, Glastonbury has a remarkably diverse history of Christian places of worship, further enriched by the fact that several of these movements saw break-away factions, typically setting up new meeting places as a result of doctrinal disagreements, leaving behind them a legacy which would require a highly specialized degree of study in order to chart their respective histories and places of practice. Amongst their number have been Puritans/Undetermined Protestants, Quakers, Independents, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Salvationists, Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals.

 

The United Reformed Church on the High Street was built in 1814 and altered in 1898. It stands on the site of the Ship Inn where meetings were held during the 18th century. It is Grade II listed.

 

Glastonbury Methodist Church on Lambrook Street was built in 1843 and has a galleried interior, typical of a non-conformist chapel of that period, but an unusual number of stained glass windows. Close by the front of the church is an ancient pond, which was later covered to form a brick-arched reservoir. This is mentioned in property deeds of 1821, and is still accessible, containing approximately 31,500 gallons of water.

 

The Methodist Church on Lambrook street was originally the Glastonbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built on Northload Street in 1844, with an adjoining house added for a minister in 1869. This chapel was closed in 1968, since which time it has had a number of different uses, being described in 2007 as the Maitreya Monastery, prior to which it had been the Archangel Michael Soul Therapy Centre.

 

The Bove Town Gospel Hall has been a place of worship in the town since at least 1889, when it was listed as a mission of the Plymouth Brethren. Jehovah's Witnesses originally occupied a Kingdom Hall on Archer's Way from 1942. This transferred to Church Lane in 1964, and subsequently to its present site on Old Wells Road. The Gospel Hall was registered for the solemnizing of marriages in 1964

 

The Catholic Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury was built, on land near to the Abbey, in 1939. A statue based on a 14th-century metal seal was blessed in 1955 and crowned in 1965 restoring the Marian shrine that had been in the Abbey prior to the reformation. The Shrine is now the home of the Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery founded in August 2019.

 

The Glastonbury Order of Druids was formed on Mayday 1988.

 

Sufism has been long established in Glastonbury. Zikrs are held weekly in private homes, and on the first Sunday of every month a zikr is held at St Margaret's Chapel in Magdalene Street. A Sufi charity shop was established in Glastonbury in 1999, and supports missionary work in Africa. This shop was opened after Sheikh Nazim came to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. Here he declared, "This is the spiritual heart of England ... It is from here that the spiritual new age will begin and to here that Jesus will return".

 

The pagan Glastonbury Goddess Temple was founded in 2002 and registered as a place of worship the following year. It is self-described as the first temple of its kind to exist in Europe in over a thousand years.

 

In April 2012, it was reported by The Guardian newspaper that, according to the Pilgrim Reception Centre in the town, Glastonbury had around seventy different faith groups. Some of these groups attended a special ceremony to celebrate this diversity, held in the Chalice Well Gardens on 21 April of that year.

 

The 22nd Jagannatha Ratha-yatra Krishna Festival took place in Glastonbury on Sunday 4 October 2015. Devotees of the Krishna Consciousness movement travelled to the town from London, Bath, Bristol and elsewhere to join with locals in a procession and Kirtan.

 

Glastonbury also headquarters the British Orthodox Church which is independent Oriental Orthodox denomination since 2015

 

Glastonbury has a particular significance for members of the Baháʼí Faith in that Wellesley Tudor Pole, founder of the Chalice Well Trust, was one of the earliest and most prominent adherents of this faith in the United Kingdom.

 

The local football team is Glastonbury F.C. They joined the Western Football League in 1919 and have won the Western Football League title three times in their history. The club are now playing in the Somerset County Football League.

 

Glastonbury Cricket Club previously competed in the West of England Premier League, one of the ECB Premier Leagues, the highest level of recreational cricket in England and Wales. The club plays at the Tor Leisure Ground, which used to stage Somerset County Cricket Club first-class fixtures.

 

The town is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

 

In a 1904 novel by Charles Whistler entitled A Prince of Cornwall Glastonbury in the days of Ine of Wessex is portrayed. It is also a setting in the Warlord Chronicles, a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. Modern fiction has also used Glastonbury as a setting including The Age of Misrule series of books by Mark Chadbourn in which the Watchmen appear, a group selected from Anglican priests in and around Glastonbury to safeguard knowledge of a gate to the Otherworld on top of Glastonbury Tor. John Cowper Powys's novel A Glastonbury Romance is set in Glastonbury and is concerned with the Grail. The historical mystery novel Grave Goods by Diana Norman (writing under the pen name Ariana Frankin) is set in Glastonbury just after the abbey fire and concerns the supposed graves of Arthur and Guinevere, as well as featuring other landmarks such as the Tor.

 

The Children's World charity grew out of the festival and is based in the town. It is known internationally (as Children's World International). It was set up by Arabella Churchill in 1981 to provide drama participation and creative play and to work creatively in educational settings, providing social and emotional benefits for all children, particularly those with special needs. Children's World International is the sister charity of Children's World and was started in 1999 to work with children in the Balkans, in conjunction with Balkan Sunflowers and Save the Children. They also run the Glastonbury Children's Festival each August.

 

The local Brass Band is Glastonbury Brass which is currently placed in the first section for the West of England area. The band was founded in 2017 when the old Yeovil Town Band relocated after running into financial difficulty following a "notice to quit" on its rehearsal facility in September 2016. The band is featured twice on the Haiku Salut album There Is No Elsewhere (2018) and can be heard on the tracks Cold To Crack The Stones and The More And Moreness. In February 2020, the band was involved in the launch of Johnny Mars's "Dare to Dream" project aimed at raising awareness of the effects mankind is having on the world.

 

Glastonbury is the final venue for the annual November West Country Carnival.

 

Glastonbury has been described as a New Age community where communities have grown up to include people with New Age beliefs.

 

The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926. The festivals were founded by English socialist composer Rutland Boughton and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopian principles. With strong Arthurian connections and historic and prehistoric associations, Glastonbury was chosen to host the festivals.

 

The more recent Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, founded in 1970, is now the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world. Although it is named after Glastonbury, it is actually held at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town of Glastonbury. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km2), had over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. The festival has spawned a range of other work including the 1972 film Glastonbury Fayre and album, 1996 film Glastonbury the Movie and the 2005 DVD Glastonbury Anthems.

 

Glastonbury has been the birthplace or home to many notable people. Peter King, 1st Baron King was the recorder of Glastonbury in 1705. Thomas Bramwell Welch the discoverer of the pasteurisation process to prevent the fermentation of grape juice was born in Glastonbury in 1825. The judge John Creighton represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770 to 1775. The fossil collector Thomas Hawkins lived in the town during the 19th century.

 

The religious connections and mythology of the town have also attracted notable authors. The occultist and writer Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth) lived and is buried in Glastonbury. Her old house was home to the writer and historian Geoffrey Ashe, who was known for his works on local legends. Frederick Bligh Bond, archaeologist and writer. Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker, and spiritual teacher lived in Glastonbury during the 1980s. Eileen Caddy was at a sanctuary in Glastonbury when she first claimed to have heard the "voice of God" while meditating. Her subsequent instructions from the "voice" directed her to take on Sheena Govan as her spiritual teacher, and became a spiritual teacher and new age author, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community.

 

Popular entertainment and literature is also represented amongst the population. English composer Rutland Boughton moved from Birmingham to Glastonbury in 1911 and established the country's first national annual summer school of music. Gary Stringer, lead singer of rock band Reef, was a local along with other members of the band. The juggler Haggis McLeod and his late wife, Arabella Churchill, one of the founders of the Glastonbury Festival, lived in the town. The conductor Charles Hazlewood lives locally and hosts the "Play the Field" music festival on his farm nearby. Bill Bunbury moved on from Glastonbury to become a writer, radio broadcaster, and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

Athletes and sports players from Glastonbury include cricketers Cyril Baily in 1880, George Burrough in 1907, and Eustace Bisgood in 1878. The footballer Peter Spiring was born in Glastonbury in 1950. Formula 1 driver Lando Norris grew up in Glastonbury.

 

Twin towns

France Bretenoux, France

Greece Patmos, Greece

Ethiopia Lalibela, Ethiopia

 

Freedom of the Town

Michael Eavis: 3 May 2022. The founder of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival has been made a Freeman of Glastonbury. Born in 1935, the celebrated dairy farmer held his first Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1970. 52 years later, Mr. Eavis has been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

 

The Key of Avalon

This award was created in 2022 by the Glastonbury Town Council. The first recipient was Prem Rawat, international peace advocate and author, who spoke at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.

 

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

 

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset.

 

The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland, and the north-east and west of the county are hilly. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds AONB, all of the Mendip Hills AONB, and a small part of Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB; the west contains the Quantock Hills AONB, a majority of Exmoor National Park, and part of the Blackdown Hills AONB. The main rivers in the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.

 

There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals.

 

Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.

 

Following the Roman Empire's invasion of southern Britain, the mining of lead and silver in the Mendip Hills provided a basis for local industry and commerce. Bath became the site of a major Roman fort and city, the remains of which can still be seen. During the Early Medieval period Somerset was the scene of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and first the Britons and later the Danes. In this period it was ruled first by various kings of Wessex, and later by kings of England. Following the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy by the Normans in 1066, castles were built in Somerset.

 

Expansion of the population and settlements in the county continued during the Tudor and more recent periods. Agriculture and coal mining expanded until the 18th century, although other industries declined during the industrial revolution. In modern times the population has grown, particularly in the seaside towns, notably Weston-super-Mare. Agriculture continues to be a major business, if no longer a major employer because of mechanisation. Light industries are based in towns such as Bridgwater and Yeovil. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet manufacture cider, although the acreage of apple orchards is less than it once was.

 

The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods saw hunter-gatherers move into the region of Somerset. There is evidence from flint artefacts in a quarry at Westbury that an ancestor of modern man, possibly Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the area from around 500,000 years ago. There is still some doubt about whether the artefacts are of human origin but they have been dated within Oxygen Isotope Stage 13 (524,000 – 478,000 BP). Other experts suggest that "many of the bone-rich Middle Pleistocene deposits belong to a single but climatically variable interglacial that succeeded the Cromerian, perhaps about 500,000 years ago. Detailed analysis of the origin and modification of the flint artefacts leads to the conclusion that the assemblage was probably a product of geomorphological processes rather than human work, but a single cut-marked bone suggests a human presence." Animal bones and artefacts unearthed in the 1980s at Westbury-sub-Mendip, in Somerset, have shown evidence of early human activity approximately 700,000 years ago.

 

Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern man, came to Somerset during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of occupation of four Mendip caves 35,000 to 30,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, it is probable that Somerset was deserted as the area experienced tundra conditions. Evidence was found in Gough's Cave of deposits of human bone dating from around 12,500 years ago. The bones were defleshed and probably ritually buried though perhaps related to cannibalism being practised in the area at the time or making skull cups or storage containers. Somerset was one of the first areas of future England settled following the end of Younger Dryas phase of the last ice age c. 8000 BC. Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge. He is Britain's oldest complete human skeleton. The remains date from about 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. Somerset is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from about 6000 BCE; Mesolithic artefacts have been found in more than 70 locations. Mendip caves were used as burial places, with between 50 and 100 skeletons being found in Aveline's Hole. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BCE, there is evidence of farming.

 

At the end of the last ice age the Bristol Channel was dry land, but later the sea level rose, particularly between 1220 and 900 BC and between 800 and 470 BCE, resulting in major coastal changes. The Somerset Levels became flooded, but the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunters. The county has prehistoric burial mounds (such as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow), stone rows (such as the circles at Stanton Drew and Priddy) and settlement sites. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has come both from the upland areas, such as in Mendip caves, and from the low land areas such as the Somerset Levels. Dry points in the latter such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement with wooden trackways between them. There were also "lake villages" in the marsh such as those at Glastonbury Lake Village and Meare. One of the oldest dated human road work in Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BC, partially on the route of the even earlier Post Track.

 

There is evidence of Exmoor's human occupation from Mesolithic times onwards. In the Neolithic period people started to manage animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act purely as hunter gatherers. It is also likely that extraction and smelting of mineral ores to make tools, weapons, containers and ornaments in bronze and then iron started in the late Neolithic and into the Bronze and Iron Ages.

 

The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle, Worlebury Camp and Ham Hill. The age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but is believed to be from the Neolithic period. There is evidence of mining on the Mendip Hills back into the late Bronze Age when there were technological changes in metal working indicated by the use of lead. There are numerous "hill forts", such as Small Down Knoll, Solsbury Hill, Dolebury Warren and Burledge Hill, which seem to have had domestic purposes, not just a defensive role. They generally seem to have been occupied intermittently from the Bronze Age onward, some, such as Cadbury Camp at South Cadbury, being refurbished during different eras. Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber at Williton which is composed of three round barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow.

 

The Iron Age tribes of later Somerset were the Dobunni in north Somerset, Durotriges in south Somerset and Dumnonii in west Somerset. The first and second produced coins, the finds of which allows their tribal areas to be suggested, but the latter did not. All three had a Celtic culture and language. However, Ptolemy stated that Bath was in the territory of the Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of Sulis at Bath and possibly the temple on Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the Quantock Hills, include major hill forts at Dowsborough and Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as Trendle Ring, Elworthy Barrows and Plainsfield Camp.

 

Somerset was part of the Roman Empire from 47 AD to about 409 AD. However, the end was not abrupt and elements of Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century.

 

Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor Vespasian. The hillforts of the Durotriges at Ham Hill and Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later Boudiccan Revolt of 60–61 AD. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 AD.

 

The Roman invasion, and possibly the preceding period of involvement in the internal affairs of the south of England, was inspired in part by the potential of the Mendip Hills. A great deal of the attraction of the lead mines may have been the potential for the extraction of silver.

 

Forts were set up at Bath and Ilchester. The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the Fosse Way (from the Latin fossa meaning ditch). The Fosse Way ran through Bath, Shepton Mallet, Ilchester and south-west towards Axminster. The road from Dorchester ran through Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Small towns and trading ports were set up, such as Camerton and Combwich. The larger towns decayed in the latter part of the period, though the smaller ones appear to have decayed less. In the latter part of the period, Ilchester seems to have been a "civitas" capital and Bath may also have been one. Particularly to the east of the River Parrett, villas were constructed. However, only a few Roman sites have been found to the west of the river. The villas have produced important mosaics and artifacts. Cemeteries have been found outside the Roman towns of Somerset and by Roman temples such as that at Lamyatt. Romano-British farming settlements, such as those at Catsgore and Sigwells, have been found in Somerset. There was salt production on the Somerset Levels near Highbridge and quarrying took place near Bath, where the Roman Baths gave their name to Bath.

 

Excavations carried out before the flooding of Chew Valley Lake also uncovered Roman remains, indicating agricultural and industrial activity from the second half of the 1st century until the 3rd century AD. The finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets (the first in the UK) with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke. In October 2001 the West Bagborough Hoard of 4th century Roman silver was discovered in West Bagborough. The 681 coins included two denarii from the early 2nd century and 8 Miliarense and 671 Siliqua all dating to the period AD 337 – 367. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors Constantius II and Julian and derive from a range of mints including Arles and Lyons in France, Trier in Germany and Rome.

 

In April 2010, the Frome Hoard, one of the largest-ever hoards of Roman coins discovered in Britain, was found by a metal detectorist. The hoard of 52,500 coins dated from the 3rd century AD and was found buried in a field near Frome, in a jar 14 inches (36 cm) below the surface. The coins were excavated by archaeologists from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

 

This is the period from about 409 AD to the start of Saxon political control, which was mainly in the late 7th century, though they are said to have captured the Bath area in 577 AD. Initially the Britons of Somerset seem to have continued much as under the Romans but without the imperial taxation and markets. There was then a period of civil war in Britain though it is not known how this affected Somerset. The Western Wandsdyke may have been constructed in this period but archaeological data shows that it was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD. The ditch is on the north side, so presumably it was used by the Celts as a defence against Saxons encroaching from the upper Thames Valley. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, with victories at Bradford-on-Avon (in the Avon Gap in the Wansdyke) in 65

Oakbank - a town of two breweries and the Johnston brothers.

James Johnston and his brother William Johnston migrated from Glasgow to the Woodside area in 1839 obtaining some land in 1840 which they called Oakbank. By 1844 they had sown 50 acres in wheat, 12 acres in barley and four acres in potatoes. James and William started a brewery in 1843 as there was a good local supply of water- the Onkaparinga River. In 1853 the brewery took in brother Andrew in partnership when William died. They manufactured cordials and aerated waters as well as beer and they later joined the Lion brewery in Adelaide and they founded another brewery of their own in Broken Hill. The Oakbank brewery reached its peak in the 1890s for beer production before the pasteurisation of beer became common and most country breweries closed as production was concentrated in Adelaide. Their hops came from Lobethal, Woodside and Tasmania for their beer. They supplied the annual race meeting at Oakbank as the racing club had been formed in 1874. James died in 1891 and Andrew Johnston died in 1886. It was their sons who formed a company in 1901 and expanded the number of Johnston owned hotels from Woodside (1850) to over 20. They stopped producing beer in 1914 but their factory still produces aerated waters (soft drinks). The Johnston family company still owns 19 SA hotels from Milang to Mt Pleasant, Callington, Mannum and more. Since 2002 they have started producing their own wine. They are thought to be the longest surviving SA family company. There was a rival brewer in Oakbank from 1885 when Henry Pike established a second brewery in town. He too purchased a chain of hotels before ceasing to produce beer from 1938 when the Pike brewery too concentrated on cordials and aerated drinks. The Pikes factory finally closed in 1973.

 

But it was the Johnstons who planned and developed a town at Oakbank in 1860 when they subdivided some of their land. They almost saw it as their company town with their buildings and brewery and their grand homes. Oakbank House (James Johnston) is near the racecourse and near the brewery. It was built around 1865 as a grand two storey house with wrought iron balconies and lace work, blue stone, bay window and all in the Italianate style. The fine proportions of the house were set off with a long driveway lined with gum trees. The lace wrought iron work for this house was imported from a Glasgow foundry! The Johnstons were not short of money by this time! Brewing was a profitable industry. The original house that Andrew built was further away from the Onkaparinga River in Pike Street called Dalintober, built around 1855. Unfortunately there is not much visible of this grand house from the street. It was James Johnston who subdivided some of his land to form the town of Woodside in 1850. The early Oakbank races were held on Andrew Johnston’s land and he was a founding club member in 1874. Heinrich Von Doussa was the first secretary of the Oakbank races, a position he held for almost 50 years.

 

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office in 1871 meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared rather than the Hundred of Booyoolee. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura subdivided but it was soon amalgamated into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was built in 1883 to the design of Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and was then immediately re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced and marketed the BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction with the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

A l’heure ou nous traçons ses lignes, le monde est en plein désarroi intellectuel, il fabrique l’irrespect de l’esprit critique. La monomanie de la culture du propre bien lisse et la fièvre de l’individualisme se distingue dans intellect hylique, intellect alimentaire acquis par l’absorption de la doxa actuellement soumise à l’ego des banquiers. L’homme révolté de Camus appartenait à l’intelligence émotionnelle. Une faculté contemplative dans l'homme dépend actuellement des médias aseptisés par un parti unique.

 

Bouregreg serpente sur les lignes régulières, un bouregreg c’est le glouglou d’un fleuve entre deux rives, comme deux années qui se franchissent dans un vol au-dessus des préjugés, meilleurs voeux à ceux qui n’auront pas l’esprit de parcourir ce lien entre les rivages de la transmutation: Hello, hello! bonne vieille terre! laboure ta crête, tourne et retourne sans cesse ta surface, vieille face bleue, irrigue tes pensées et glougloute de plaisir en prononçant buargrag, comme un serpent au sang froid, tu te réchauffes sous les pâles rayons du terminal F, F comme Funcky ou Funny, ça fait envie de te quitter ma belle F..rance, ce beurre perdu sent les racines atrophiées par un titre de séjour prolongé. Roissy tire sa révérence , allo Roi ici nous voici, je suis orphelin de mon père l’âme supérieure au-dessus de Bouregreg. Un lien sacré avec les Atlantes se faufile entre Rabat et Salé, il veut rester un territoire indépendant et reste cachée par les nuages de ses rêves stratosphériques.

  

A noter la silhouette d'une armure d'Europe orientaliste au milieu d'une colline: un plastron globulaire court sur une faille encore assez longue et continuerait de se raccourcir dans les années 1450, après avoir été beaucoup plus longue et plus profonde entre 1430 et 1440 de l'Hégire. .

À 10000 pieds c’est le seuil critique d’une raison pure, à cette hauteur, l’esprit des hommes se dilate dans la matière de l’aura. Tu l’aura ce voyage, ton avion dessine une auréole d’évidence autour du Monde libre. L’édredon des nuages flottant sur matelas de confiance terrienne piège tes rêves à travers le hublot, c’est un trou dans la carlingue qui emprisonne tes pensées. Tu laisse des valises de soucis en soute.

Un monde d’où l’on ne revient toujours pas, d’ailleurs à quoi bon revenir sur ses

pas ? les nuages ne marquent pas l’empreinte de tes pieds de nez à l’intelligence du tout puissant, leurs cimes sont glissantes et humides comme ton grand front d’intellectuel en mode sudoripare, la tension fait perler tes tempes avant la pluie des contradictions, elles transforment ta verve si à l’aise dans les malaises et les foutaises, là-bas tout en bas tu règne en maître chanteur des fausses valeurs.

Plusieurs vols annulés vont être groupés en

747 sur Paris-Casa ! l’esprit amérindien est

venu sécher mon front, en transit d’espoir:

revoir mes frères Apaches avant que le

continent ne se détache....

Mais ou sont les anges déchus de la nationalité des Libres Penseurs ? Je viens de réaliser que ce 747 nous transporte sur une ligne intérieure

les passagers seront largués au dessus d’une destination meilleure, Contemple l’ assiette d’aluminium et ton esprit sera que du bonheur J’aime tes jeux de mots de garçon coiffeur

Tes blagues de bluffeur mettent de l’humeur

En fait je me sens super bien en éco , l’odeur de parfum masque la sueur Ce mélange subtil puisse t’il endormir ta méfiance des classes moyennes , t’as peur ?

Derrière ton casque et tes lunettes noires on voit bien que tu est un riche vainqueur

Par accident ton corps est mélangé au peuple et nos esprit se diluèrent ... Toi le président des Chutes chut taisez vous, les journaux perdent leurs nerfs,

Alors mister président listen to me now ,

Le français et le latin sont des frères ,

Ils sont devenu des langues mortes , alors mist-president écoute les voix se taire

Ton peuple a trop souffert de ta politique à l’envers, ta femme à l’air pervers.

Ah ces chineurs, ils ramassent ceux qui veulent plus de la guerre des étoiles en pleurs, battent la monnaie des Jaunes, ici git laid ce paysage ,ça Chine les matières premières, made in Transe. On voit tout du hublot, le peuple si bas, les classes moyennes qui transpirent les économies dans des places tassés, le fard de Brigitte coule sur le siège de la rue...

Mystères président, ohhh Mista président dis nous vers quel pays tu voles ??? ou quel pays tu as volé , bon vol et bonjour Mélanie.

Le bon et loyal 747 est toujours là en seigneur des nuages , son pilote vit à Malte chez Opus Dei, ohhhh divin supérieur...croit les croisés , cruise missile et cru missel, crucifié par ton père français, il te renies, t’es interdit d’exporter les snipers et le matériel sécuritaire , alors que faire ???

  

La Franche...ouille!!! est trop régionale et identitaire, à force de vouloir assimiler et intégrer sans échanger; arrogante, elle prêche dans les pétro-déserts où personne comprend plus Molière. La farce à fric ou France Afrique, c’est fini, trop petite pour résister aux appétit des gros, alors il a pris son pinceau et délimité d’un trait sûr son nouveau tableau de l’Afrique , et il s’y connaît c’est le président ....le world président of the biggest compagnie, nie l’évidence.

747 désirs m’attendent à bord du Air Force One , n’oublie pas le numéro 5 Coco , c’est l’heure du boutique french-shop en zone franc, les commerces sont libres, les douaniers sont gommés d'un coup d'aile, plus de pudeur, dans un combat inégal avec ton code PIN, tu te régale en président régalien, c’est égal, tu voles en classe et joue aux dés avec les nuages. Le peuple des rampants appartient à une compagnie aérienne dont tu peux te séparer facilement, avec un parachute doré, et hop un saint-siège éjecte une compagnie de pathos critique.

La couche d’émulsion en chute libre profite à toutes cette émotion spirituelle , elle filtre les meilleures particules pour rester une race aussi pure, tout en bas les transferts s’opèrent dans les guerres entre univers.

Dans cette noble pourriture nous donnons le bain à nos jalouses incompréhensions, de là haut que l’on ne voit plus désormais; l’esprit d’éther qui se condense en eau bénite, la poudre aux yeux de nos prétentions se transforme en crème, stade final crématoire, elle brûle de s’en sortir et s’affine en gros fromage puant.

Le fromage fait vendre la télé réalité ou l’inverse ? Nous ne suivons plus réellement des plateaux de télévision mais des plateaux teléfromage,la télé-fromagerie c’est néandertalien qui devient sapiens, la connerie passe les frontières du bon sens avec la complicité des gardiens du temple: les journalistes salariés du pouvoir en lévitation au-dessus des masses nuageuses ou moyenâgeuses.

Grippe virale ou esprit grippé? Les pathologies s’agrippent au corps sains et se transfèrent comme un logiciel pour limiter la surproduction de misère. Une colère dans la stratosphère réchauffe la terre devenue zone de transfert, tous en enfer?

Pourquoi ne pas faire transiter tous les comptes du paradis, fils prodigue et co-locataire de nos affaires que tu gères en vie homo-banquière. Elle consulte ses voyantes et prévoient mon bonheur en wifi. Il survit en zone de pudeur, son historique est revendu par les réseaux sociaux, ainsi va la vie, l’instinct heureux plane avec des ailes en forme de sourire partagé, allez vient cher esclave de tes recherches sur la toile; tu devînt devin, je te prêterai une plume de mes ailes d’ange, comme ça t’arrangera, écris cette histoire étrange, de l’esclave moderne dans sa zone de turbulences; dans un trou d’air, il retrouve sa marge bénéficiaire avec sa mémoire fossile,

fausse îles du possible; elles sentent le posé-cible ,possible dommage. Les passagers dorment les âges anciens du libre penseur en apesanteur.

Mon âme gît loin de ces étrangetés , un instant je la transfère hors de sa sphère, voilà cette civilisation du transport aérien, air de rien, elle opère à ciel ouvert, ,ses ailes nivellent nos anciennes différences ,d’abord oublie ta grotte de fossile puis vient en zone de transfert, infuse ce qu’on te refuses, pendant qu’ici, ils s’amusent de se bonheur que tu refuse pour filer tes sens dans les courants d’air froid. Tu veux, donc tu penses, ton cœur bât encore quelques vengeances, alors que ton âme voyage en classe affaire. Tes crises viennent quand tu regardes en arrière. Les sièges des classes écos sont surbookés par de terribles colères.

  

Bien tassées dans leurs pièges ailés, s’agitent fort, Au gré des turbulences, elles cherchent un support, De vaines psychanalyses de groupe collent au corps,

Sur une foule de ressentiments, transpirent en cœur, Pulsant leurs réserves d’esprit, ils crient leurs peurs ,

Ecoute ton cœur ,il bat son rythme plus fort encore, Laisse tes sens vides manger seul, bien des remords,

Oh !!! esprit vole plus haut que tes désirs d’homme Remet ton âme au son des anges, où elle résonne,

Il n’y a plus rien d’autre dans cette pauvre personne,

Au loin je distingue à peine sa forme et son pourtour, Une carlingue sans ailes vole à son secours sans détour,

Elle agite encore son corps au gré de ses crises d’égo Sans héros sa vie c’est du zéro, tu deviens son nigaud,

Vas-y mon Joe , rattrape l’avion il s’en va avec son cœur , Vole et suis le partout si il veut rester ici bas avec ta peur,

Elle se ballotte au gré des ondes , avec tout un faux monde Reste bien assis dans ton siège avec les sens qu’elle sonde

Quand gronde sa rancœur, elle touche pas ton cœur. Fixe ta peur, attache là à tes vieux songes de malheur,

Tu rêve d’atterrir et enfin de rebondir sur un autre chemin Tes roues touchent la solitude de tes certitudes de gamin Tu planes sur tes anciennes conquêtes, sans lendemain,

Celles que t’as pas pu séduire dans ta tour de self-control, Alors chauffe les pistes de la danse du coeur, suis son envol, Surtout, accroche toi à son beau fuselage quand elle décolle,

Avec elle, tu fusionnes la matière de l’amour fou et délicieux,

Transmute dans les nuées des anges qui se frottent aux cieux

Tes yeux sont des hublots ou les esprits se lovent, Touche pas aux poussières de matières qui se sauvent,

Allez vient et écoute battre son cœur, il pulse si bien, A quinze mille pieds tu prends le tien dans ce refrain ;

Du sol tu peux pas toucher mon cœur ,il vient du soleil, Ses rayons réchauffent tes ailes d’anges si près du ciel Tu l’aimes dans ce vol sans escales vers la lune de miel.

Tel Sysiphe tu roules ton rocher de grêlons au sommet des cumulus sans jamais l’atteindre, traverses bien la Méditerranée et lie tes pensées au sort des nuées, elles sont d’ici et d’ailleurs, mais disparaissent si tu les racontes avec les mots d’aujourd’hui, comme d’immatérielles consistances, notre vocabulaire ne saurait les saisir et cela n’est pas une préoccupation pour les prisonniers de cette carlingue qui va d’escales en escales , brûlante de découvrir des territoires étranges.

 

C’est vraiment une bétaillère, pas un morceau de lard dépasse des sièges, chaque passager retient ventre , fesses, en buisness, ils ont des têtes moins stress , ce n’est pas la compagnie aérienne qui nous intéresse, mais seulement voyager en compagnie de l’ami des dieux et du philosophe bouclier nous sommes bouclé dans un tube comme un cortex volant qui nous sert de médium dans ce groupe d’humains , 200 pers à 931 km /h , forcement chacun se met dans une bulle,elle passe sans vraiment s’arrêter nulle part. Les ondes que nous captons à présent sont la clef de cette histoire.

Sans le vouloir, nous laissons givrer le bras tard, Gibraltar comme un rebondissement possible de notre narration, elle s’improvise dans le déroulement de l’action qui va se corser à l’insu de notre destiné de bête taille humaine, comme le bétail humain, petite précision c’est quoi du bétail humain ?

Du bétail, c’est de la viande sur pied, des pieds bientôt inutiles mais bien assez pour mener sa viande aux 10 000 pieds et oublier la face humaine des veaux qu’on mène à l’abattoir, ils pleurent leurs mères en suçant les restes de sauces dans des barquettes en vinyle .

Le survol du des droits ibères sur le détroit libère quelques consciences étroites dans un permafrost fidèle à son poste. Nous participons au réchauffement de la planète du désir, il se condense en nuages de plaisirs..

Ce contrôle à 100 p100 de la définition d’un bétail ne laisse aucune issue de secours, d’ailleurs après le repas le troupeau est libre de circuler entre les sièges, les postérieurs passent sur la ligne du regard , c’est gentil , ils vont aux toilettes en groupe , croupe tendue , ce qui offre l’avantage de faire la queue, imagine les effluves de bêtes qui vont faire leurs besoins.

Danger à Tanger , plus rien à manger, nos besoins sont ils relâchés en altitude ? Sûrement qu’il vole plus haut que nos pensées gloutonnes et nourrissent un tas de ressentiments livrés en satellites dans des plateaux-repas pour les sardines d’Essaouira et ça ira bien assez comme ça....

La vie se déroule comme un vrai repas

Le pet sonne le résumé lors du trépas

Certains pètent coincés comme une vie bloqué

L’histoire d’un pet qui se retrouve dans l’œsophage, comme si la vie voulait sortir par le mauvais orifice

Le pet solide comme les boules gonfle les glandes , glandeur de la vie , grandeur de la vie ?

Le pet sans odeur , vie sans saveur

Le pet sucré ou une bien grasse distillation des sucs, huiles essentielles d’une vie existentielle, calorigène issue d’un gène vivant et pas d’une gêne morte de honte, comme un pet foireux, la vague bleu Marine , merde c’est la courante qui trace ton fond

de caldé en bleu, blanc, rouge, tu as des hémorroïdes à force de te faire enculer par les collabos, tu chies des croix gammées qui t’arrachent le fion, tes pets sentent la mort qui s’approche.

Dans la vie moderne comme une reine morte, la gastronomie sans gaz produit du format sans saveur

La scène de Vinci témoignage d’une vie bien différente de ce que l’existence nous donne à digérer, on vit moralement comme à la fin du 19° dans les méandres d’un intestin sans instinct, le Bouregreg résonne dans ce tube de l’année.

Jésus pète de bonheur après ce bon repas entre potes , l’histoire a censuré son odeur. L’instinctif bruyant du pet est trop vulgaire

Peter un gros coup pour libérer ses pulsions

Peter sans odeur comme une vie pasteurisée, exhume tes flatulences relance de fragrance aux sens plein d’absences.

Un gros pet foireux taille sa route entre des embouteillage de merde , il glisse sur les victimes d’habitués à l’immobilisation du temps , le pet fuse et ne résonne pas plus haut que leurs klaxons impuissants

Pousse ton pet dans le conduit , sauf conduit de merde ,tu passes les frontières de la cuvette trop pleine de miasmes , passe porc tu bouffes tes pêchers , t’empêches la zone de couvrir les murs de la honte , pet de bourge ou pet de barge , l’odeur est la même , le caviar sent comme la sardine , le pet confond toute les origines , le pet s’est comme le multiculturalisme de l’estomac , hé la France comme un gros tube digestif , les cheblanc voudrais que tu leurs ressemblent , alsaciens bretons même combat , algériens sénégalais mangez du camembert , pétons ensemble la même mélodie , prout prout la France , j’aime ton côté prout... proust , pet de madeleine , c’est la french touch , un petit fumet patriotique antibiométrique automatique , vas y pète mon frère , pète ton amour du pays.

Comme un pet brûlant , tes lèvres ont la saveur d’une campagne aux engrais fixés à la fleur de daube , gorge chaude , tu roucoules du cul comme un albatros maculé de goudron , quelques gouttes de gaz liquide se fendent comme des larmes sur ta face arrière , met les gaz ma poule et roucoule avec ton fion , pond nous un pti gaz de derrière les réchaud , si t’as mal ventre , pousse les gaz au raz des marées chaussées de merde , les flics se la pètent avec leurs lunettes , ils calculent ta vitesse d’expulsion , interdit de péter plus vite que son ombre sous peine de rétention au centre des gaz et si je pète les centres de rétention ??? , les vagues bleues Marine s’enferment dans leurs chambres à gaz , sous un tas de fumiers nostalgique de l’Empire , pas celui du shit , merde française qui se fume entre bleu ,blanc et rouge de honte d’être dans le gaz , ils échappent à la généreuse foirade de la multi-culture , pétons avec nos frères , cul blanc béni , cul noir rebondi , cul jaune d’or , tous du cul dans la vie , alors Marine on se la pète ? crac crac les sondages ,avec la peur comme fond de commerce on est tous devenu des pètochard , péte haut et moucharde , Et si les journalistes qui annonce à ton arrivée ,du caca général, si c’n’est pas des gros pets, les journalistes sont des caisses de résonance comme des grosses flatulences ils parfument les infos de fait divers scatologique et font la place aux merdes pour quelle arrivent , allez Marine ramène ton gros cul de fausse blonde , allez

chante Marseille en pétant juste , la France à la tourista avec tous ces étrangers, ça va péter ...

Bon sang ... mais c’est quoi qui coule dans tes tripes ou est ta mauvaise graine ? Rien que ça ? Mais t’es fou ?

Bin t’es pas rigolo ma poule, si tu pianotes ces quelques spasmes en fantasmant sur une vie d’artiste du fion , Dufion JC et hop en 40 avant JC Duf’ t’étais un gros cigare coincé dans les méandres d’une vie digestive et peu active .

Alors mon beau brun t’es coincé dans un virage du Bouregreg, bourré Greg tu glougloutes?

t’es trop rigide ?

pourtant je pourrais te transcender en torrent , t’es de la courante , tu causes le langage des signes ?

Fort peu mon gars ça se sent que t’as pas fait de créneaux depuis des lustres , alors astique ton volant et tourne , retourne dans les intestins et refait le trajet de ta vie .

Tu brunis à l’ombre , t’es bien rare dans ton cas de bronze , les normaux brunissent au soleil des envies folles , toi tu deviens d’un beau bronze dans ta lente descente obscure vers la lune noire et tu l’éclates à chaque passage , passe et repasse le film de ta vie , il s’enroule bien ouaté et comme une vie torchée , finir troué et rincé dans une cuvette pleine d’eau bénite , ahhh mon cœur , t’es bien lisse à force de glisser contre les parois qui guide ton odorant destin , quel parfum ....

Dufion JC c’est l’an zéro , quand tu touche la surface de l’eau c’est le signal de ta fin ,selle ou celle d’un destin qui se scelle dans le vide .

Moulé par la force de gravité , gravité de cette lourde pensée , que te reste t’il à la pesée ? à la fin c’est l’ultime test on pèse ton âme , elle doit être plus légère que la plume qui écrit ce texte de scato , c’est pas rigolo , t’es tout ridé à force de te crisper , vas y pousse poupousse mon ange noir , t’as l’pampl qui mousse , donne toi de l’amplitude , du rythme dans la contraction c’est ton heure . Bientôt tu vas plonger dans une nouvelle tuyauterie, remonter le fleuve de la vie, celle que tu maudis si remplie et si pleine des fragrances de tronc pourris .

Les balais brossent ton visage ,

ils effacent les traces de ton passage dans la cuvette. Tu t’apprêtes à tournoyer dans le rythme .

Marque ton passage d’un éclair de zèbre ,

tu signes brun , ooooh ,

c’est ta dernière danse enroulée , Dance a rock and roll in th’ lavotories ,

you are the champions of brownies .

Allez hop c’est le voyage au bout de la nuit dans le bateau ivre de bonheur de se sentir ainsi quitter la maison mère.

Décontracté du fion ,

JC Duf’ se prélasse dans de nouvelles psy- canalisation , faut se faire une raison d’ailleurs du fond du pantalon .

Libre des contractions anales

Tu glisses dans l’éternel canal

Et passe au stade subliminal

Je me demande à quoi ressemble une grosse merde qui sublime sa vie intracorporelle , à quoi joue t’elle ?

C’est quoi la vie antérieure d’une merde ,

c’est quoi sa consistance ?

nourrie à la repentance ?

Selle d’une vie bien mince

Ou très grosse à s’éclater la rondelle ,

Pour produire de biens grosses ficelles

Solution finale d’une merde qui tire sa révérence comme une grosse ficelle qui sort d’un cul chanceux et trouve une issue heureuse face à une telle introspection en évacuant ses ressentiments dans la fosse commune des souvenirs nauséabonds

Pour tirer la chasse d’eau sur cette poisse faut d’abord comprendre en quoi consiste la merde , être une merde ou ne pas naître ? comment naissent les merdes ?

Des effets que tu maîtrises

Déféquer tes mêts...to rise

Voyage au cœur du système digestif d’une vie comme un repas ou le caca se résume aux fragrances d’une présence d’amour intense .

Une enfance volée donne le caca sans odeurs ,

C’est la chiasse de peur d’être pas à la hauteur.

Une enfance gâtée et riche en lait maternel plein de protéines produira un caca odorant et persistant d’une longueur impressionnante , ce genre de merde est très envahissante et recherche toute sa vie beaucoup d’affection , cette nostalgie d’intestins utérins se prolongera sans fin , ces merdes là sont inconsolables , tu pourras te torcher jusqu’au sang pour t’en séparer , elle vont te coller le fion sans raison et te marquer à la culotte comme le fer rouge marquait les traîtrises et les félonies .

À force de fouiner, j’ai bien cherché dans le gros-cul de la vie à expulser quelques envies de trouver une merde sympathique pour peu qu’elle existe dans mon imaginaire

Tube digressif de ce texte sans salive et plein de sucs digestifs, je me suis même osé à mettre un doigt dans le cul de mes pensées régressives, j’ai cherché la merde qui sent bon, la merde sympa, relax

du sphincter , telle le sphinx elle renaîtrait en forme de pet silencieux et langoureux .

Une merde dématérialisée , un caca virtuel , voilà la merde idéale , celle dont rêve tout les psy du stade anal , tu as si bien digéré que rien ne reste de ta vie qu’un long pet musical , un gaz spirituel , une fleur de selles .

Vais-je état de rien être ce ce tas de rien? IL végéta à rien pour passer d’un corps mort à un corps beau, le corbeau qu’il vit à travers le hublot des toilettes fut absorbé par le vide de ses pensées. Les frères végétariens ont opéré depuis longtemps l’apo..caca..tastase du monde après que le Feu du foie l'aura détruit, l’Aura détruite d’un Feu... foi supérieure d’un Monde plantant des légumes pour sauver la planète des mangeurs de viande aux antibiotiques. Je cherchais les raisons pures pour espérer une naissance à nouveau , une régénération digne de notre palingénésie cosmique.Il fallait désigner une reconstitution ou apocatastase au travers de cette digestion et opérer sa combustion dans les réacteurs de ce vaisseau volant sur un Monde surexploité par les serpents qui le dirige sans plan de vol.

Pas besoin d’être sage pour juger de la production du méthane, métaphysique et pensée occidentale, on lâche nos pets carnassiers les cimes immaculés de l’Atlas, t’imagines tous ces plateaux repas de

restes d'animaux terminent leurs course dans l’atmosphère de nos frères méditerranéens, Atlas a son ventre remplis de nos détritus et porte le Monde des riches. Le tarma attend son tarmac pour atterrir comme une Rlah ici bas.

C’est bien mieux qu’un saint sacrement aux exégèses gonflées à l’azote liquide , des satellites l’ont repéré en mouvements, troupes de terreurs anciennes , l’ombre d’un colonel dicte ses pensées surannées protégé par l antimatière de ses boules , elles surfent sur la région du repentir, des poids morts les maintiennent la tête en bas , sans quoi elles planent aux quatre vents du changement , portés par ses petites boules gonflées à bloc , aux limites de la rupture ,c’est quoi cette rédemption soudaine ?

La contrariété jetée face au rives innocentes dans l’attente d’une réplique, un courant d’air rempli de frustrations submerge la fusion des cœurs , impossible réaction en chaîne , ou l’amour se déchaîne sur les corps vides d’ envies .

Au temps des colons la méprise était fixé chez les méchants ,les bandits , faciles à reconnaître avec leurs casques blancs et leurs peaux rouges, cette race est étrange; elle s’installait dans une civilisation considérée comme inférieure. La race coloniale vivait douloureusement cette contradiction d’exil volontaire et d’ignorance involontaire. Elle subsiste encore de nos jours mais une autre plus méprisante, c’est inventé son paradigme dans le goudron des centres villes , cette dernière espèce est une version inconnue pour nos amis de Casa, elle est née après 1961 en même temps que le narrateur. C’est une race hybride, qui vit la peur de l’autre sur un écran à plasma et se dope aux journalistes

salariés par les élites occidentales. La traversée du ciel et l’atterrissage ne peuvent être payé en pièces d’or, en- dehors des fruits du labeur ou des légumes en forme de vagues intelligence. L’égo dominateur ou toute forme d’hybris nous ferais automatiquement refouler des douanes, nous serions obligés de revenir en bus, la compagnie n’accepte que les payement en espèces naturelles, les cartes de crédit provoquent de grave turbulences et des trous d’air extrêmement anxiogènes.

Les natifs berbères sont nés loin de cette misère intellectuelle, ils ont grandis au cœur d’une nature généreuses qui a produit des fruits pour tout nos frères de la création et du ventre du grand Atlas. Ils se nourrissent de l’esprit des lieux en ne consommant que des fruits de la Terre.

Il curieux de constater qu’aucun d’entre ces fruits ne convient au générations qui suivent , les méchants ont plus de super pouvoir que le grand esprit lui même et ceux qui sont restés neutre n’ont jamais vu une étoile scintiller dans l’obscurantisme qui donne sa consistance aux dogmes actuels , on a retrouvé une foie pour les bêtes , cachons nous face au risque de violer votre intimité et chantons des quantiques inventés depuis si longtemps que leurs récitation rythmique produit un avilissement chez ceux qui les récitent sans comprendre dans quel contexte ils furent conçu , leurs prières ne sont que de rudimentaires remèdes , je cherche ici des hommes sans médecine capable de faire renaître le Grand-Esprit sur ce vol Paris Casa .

Fez nous regarde passer comme une imitation grossière de migration , une immigration sauvage ferait un bel équipage , le notre est sans le sel de la vie n’atteint pas la légèreté des plumes du grand manitou, on a pesé l’âme des passagers assis en buisness et de ceux qui bossent en MacBook mal assis sur les classes économiques , conclusion des boites noires , mauvaises répartition des âmes et surcharge anormale des sondés pitoyables pitos , il ne savent dire à quel vitesse il évoluent , il ne savent pas dire sans instrument de mesure , s’ils ont atterri sous terre ou sur des nuées de pensées.

Dans les turbulences de somnolences , quelques évanescence viennent tirer leurs révérences face à tant d’abstinence de danses du soleil, dans mon sommeil, elles nous tinrent ce langage :

Face de gaouri point ne te sourit, retourne à ta terre ancestrale , ton histoire ne reviendra plus , j’ai reçu de bien pâles échos dans mon casque colonial dépressurisé, le son dolby ne produit plus les mêmes états extatiques de retour sur soi , il est vrai que la narration n’as de loin pas la magie des première lignes, Paris Casa accepte ses maigres songes que nos transports captèrent en ces terres étrangères.

Pourquoi nos transports d’habitudes si bavards sont-il avares de nouvelles histoires, faut-il absolument entendre nos esprits dans ce casque colonial, le son est modifié dans une carlingue dépressurisée , tel un beau filon nous l’avons exploité sans volonté de le réutiliser .

Sans doute le casque ou la cabine forment un couple moins complice avec l’esprit qui vint aux cours de nos dernières traversées , je prie de retrouver cet état d’esprit ou le mien est pris par la simple parole du très Grand Esprit , il y a en éco , un écho lointain de la verve qui est sienne , suis je orphelin de ces paternelles odes qui tournent et rôdent sur le bureau des pensées suggérées , ai-je eu une seule fois des pensées propres à moi même

, est-ce seulement possible ? Je ne suis qu’enveloppe charnelle conçue pour être l’objet du désir de la Mère Supérieure, la mer inférieure défile comme un vieux disque avec ses sillons écumés par les diamants, pas de dote pour cette Mère Supérieure. Un visage rassurant pour mes enfants , mais en profondeur aucune âme qui vaille , un leurre serait plus révélateur de l’état de la chose , nous lançons cette ode à ceux qui aiment cette personne que je suis censé être et incarner pour leur bonheur personnel , en vérité , l’esprit veut me dire que je n’existe que pour autrui , j’ai bien vu le visage suralimenté d’un quinquagénaire mais je n’arrivais pas à reconnaître le même en trentenaire , la laideur des peaux pendantes et prêtes à se revendre pour quelques années de moins , l’homme occidental est un mythe de jeunisme , le poids du temps lui est fatal , Celui du héros grec se retrouve dans cet archétype de l’homme occidental, il est soumis aux religions et aux progrès de la science.

L’homme esprit est celui que nous recherchons dans ces vastes contrées longtemps préservées de cette mythologie de la réussite et de l’affirmation de soi, l’homme esprit se vit comme la branche par rapport à l’arbre, il est dans une quête de résilience naturelle.

Voilà la formidable capacité d’auto suggestion de l’esprit sur la pensée , l’esprit est lucide , la pensée logique , une pensée est explicable ou alors n’est pas digne de figurer au panthéon des phrases malines et assassines .

Le drame dans cette affaire vient de la nature qui n’as aucune logique profonde mais peut être classifiée pour le besoin de compréhension logique , en vérité l’esprit anime chacune des partie de cette nature et il n’as aucune logique telle que l’on veut bien en définir une , de même que cette caractéristique que les logiciens nomment intelligence , elle ne serait en vérité qu’un exercice de style ou un habile montage de pensées bien ordonnées .

L’esprit se fiche d’avoir raison ni même d’être compris par les passager de ce vol et encore plus de ceux resté au sol , il se fiche de la reconnaissance , des vaines prières et surtout de son adoration , l’esprit est fier et généreux , il aime tes efforts pour élever ton style , il aime entendre le son de sa voix transmis par le clavier que tu actives pour qu’arrive cette missive aux anges .

L’esprit s’incarne dans des personnage ailés , voler en rêve c’est accomplir son

destin ,les grands esprits volent , pour suivre sa course dans le ciel pur d’ un vol Paris Casa Parie que nous avons utilisé la technique du leurre et de celui qui se meurt , en

restant dans son mensonge , croyant à l’agonie d’un chevalier inexistant , il revient avec son timbre colorer ce tableau de nous même dans un ennui profond et maîtrisé .

Merci les petits lardons vous aviez raison de croire en votre meilleure destinée dans cet épisode troublant de l’existence d’un vertébré tiraillé par des assises économes en confort , la maison mère entend vos douleurs et vous propose une place en son saint siège,

Nous ne serions que remercier le Grand Malâk ailé qui vient nous sourire et d’un regard complice vous invite plus haut dans la carlingue du zingue .

Bienvenu dans le ciel, c’est sûrement le plus bel endroit de la terre et les surclassements en classe à faire,

Respect aux gazelles , aux fumées du tajine, aux sept signes et bien sûr nos meilleures salutations aux amis de la tour de contrôle à Casa. Ils conseillent nos pilotes sur le meilleur des routages pour bien rester au delà des nuages , nous avons obtenu l’autorisation de débrancher les systèmes anti-gravitationnels du monde réel .

L’abstinence de gravité terrestre dans ce texte ,nous place bien plus haut que les grattes ciels de Casa très ancrés dans le brouillard du matin, leurs fondations plongent dans l’argile des ancêtres se nourrit de nos terres anciennes .

Le conseil des sages a décidé sans eux qu’une grande turbulence viendrait aspirer les bénéfices des nations , les rapaces planent sur les travailleurs , c’est la danse des marché , les notations AA Abuse des vieilles ruses , triple AA Abuse et ça m’ AA Amuse , AA+ muse , note bien cette cotation de l’âme bien plus légère en zone immortelle , Ahah AA+ de mortels dans la peine , big brother tousse , le monde va être malAAde , je fais signe aux hôtesses que je refuse d’AAterrir dans cette crise collé au sol , je veux pas revenir pour ne pas sentir l’odeur du mensonge des pyramides de Ponty.

Tu souris dans ton cachot volant, il te reste 239876 années à attendre que ce Monde-là s’effondre , alors chante l’histoire des esprits volants sur Loyal Air Mon-Rock , viens mon âme je t’attends là haut pour te retrouver en dehors de mon corps dans ce transport douillet des souches mères, range tes affaires et suis moi dans le couloir des lumières .

Le temps qui passe s’arrête le temps qu’un vide s’installe autour de tes oreilles qui veillent sur du réel, une lueur de pulsion perle sur ton front , quitter l’envie de tout et laisser le désir aux bons soins des nourritures terrestres , ici bien haut c’est de la confiture céleste qui reste dans ton estomac bien inutile dans de tels transports de l’esprit , ici tes

flatulences volent plus haut que celle des autres , sans bruit et sans odeur dans ce vol sans peurs. Distance parcourue 1000 km ,moins 47 degrés, altitude 11880 mètres, nous voilà dans des conditions idéales pour se faire mal aux méninges .

Les jalouses incompréhensions nées d’une peur chronique de se perdre dans les méandres de nos faiblesses humaines nous reviennent sans cesse .Le mufti commandant de bord nous informe que l’attraction terrestre nous pousse jusqu’à nous ses crampons et nous attire furieusement vers une maladive jalousie qui empêche de parcourir le monde qui nous intéresse , il faudra choisir de vivre sans attaches , dans le simple appareil du dénuement total , sous peine de se voir confisquer l’anti-attraction qui nous a été offerte par les hôtesses du vol , le confort de la classe affaire devait nous faciliter extraction de quelques odes à la grandeur de l’esprit maghrébin,à quoi bon tant d’amour volé , quitter la ligne claire du plan de vol pour rejoindre celle du ressentiment et de la peine du cœur.Le grand saut dans l’espace c’est une vocation à respecter comme un sacerdoce , il ne tolère que l’ascèse et fuit la séduction comme la colère , il se vit dans l’absence , la répétition des rythmes de cette prose voudrait mettre l’esprit dans l’attente d’une transe et attendre que Houston guide nos premier pas dans l’espace de ce rêve conscient .

Reste 1h 33 dans ce siège à espérer que suffisamment d’ondes du

cosmos viendront brûler ce qui reste de lucide dans nos souvenirs

d’une existence pesante et terrestre , les mots qui nous viennent

à l’esprit ne sont que des voix venues de si haut , le son feutré

du casque audio distille ces douces paroles , serait t’elles si

divines que nous aurions la prétention d’avoir rencontré Ibn Al

Arabi, même en rêve relatif et plein de superlatif , nous aurions

détourné la lumière et dépassé sa vitesse pour retourner en

arrière , labourer le champ ou poussait le blé qui nourrissait nos

vies antérieures ,refaire le trajet manqué , prendre les bonnes

décisions qu’il aurait fallu prendre , ne rater aucun virage ,

arracher les mains qui cachaient les obstacles que nous aurions pu

voir à temps et éviter de casser la vie qui nous était si chère ,

dans cet air , moins 44 degré on vire doucement vers le bercail ,

il n’y a pas de mal qui aille , laisse le spectacle des anges

battre la mesure avec leurs ailes et te suggérer ce rêve ouvert .

1 lb of salted pasteurised product of New Zealand.

 

Yangfangdian, Haidian Qu, Beijing

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared with that alternate spelling when surveying began and the Hundred was named in 1871. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school opening, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in the 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was added in 1883 to the design of Port Pirie architect William Mallyon.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built immediately. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared with that alternate spelling when surveying began and the Hundred was named in 1871. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school opening, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura gazetted but it was soon amalgamated back into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in the 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was added in 1883 to the design of Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and then was re-built immediately. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

Laura.

The land around the small town of Laura was originally part of Booyoolee sheep station based in Gladstone which was leased by Herbert Bristow Hughes and Bristow Herbert Hughes from 1843. They soon had a run of 200 square miles and the partnership split with Herbert Hughes retaining Booyoolee and Bristow Hughes developing Bundaleer sheep run from 1846. After the passing of the credit selection land acts of 1869 and 1872 large areas of Booyoolee station were resumed by the government for closer settlement and the arrival of grain farmers rather than pastoralists. But a clerical error in the Lands Office in 1871 meant the Hundred of Booyoolie was declared rather than the Hundred of Booyoolee. Herbert Bristow Hughes married Laura White of Wirrabara run and so the governor of SA named the new township Laura after Herbert Hughes’ wife. The first town lots were offered for sale in 1872 with the first school, the Wesleyan Church, the former Laura Hotel (now a shop) and the brewery all opening in 1873. Of these buildings the Laura Hotel was the first stone building erected in the town. It closed in 1998. Based beside the Rocky River in well-watered country the town grew rapidly. A local land owner Mr H Walter had a private town named North Laura subdivided but it was soon amalgamated into the government town of Laura. However just to the north of North Laura the land was purchased from the original land owner by the state government in 1893 at considerable cost to create a number of Working Men’s Blocks as part of the Cotton government scheme to assist working men to live on small blocks of around 10 acres. This area just north of the town is still known as Laura Blocks and the properties are all around 10 to 20 acres. In the 1890s at a time of great depression the blocks allowed working men to lease the land cheaply from the government in order to grow vegetables, plant fruit trees, keep a cow and a pig, perhaps some bees and poultry to supplement their waged incomes. The land was eventually offered for sale to the blockers or to other settlers.

 

Like all agricultural areas the grain farmers wanted access to good transport. The first wheat crops were carted by bullock teams or horses and drays through Hughes Gap near Crystal Brook down to the port at Port Pirie. But this need was redundant once the train line was extended from Gladstone to Laura in 1884. A fine stone gable ended railway station was built in Laura shortly after 1884 but alas it has now been demolished and the rail tracks torn up. But Laura did not remain a rail terminus. The rail lines were extended to Booleroo Centre in 1910 and then on to Melrose and Wilmington in 1919. Some of the finest buildings in the town are the Old Court House (now the art gallery) which was built in 1877, the old post office first built around 1874 and the former Police Station in the Main Street built in in 1878 and closed in 1968. The old Institute was built in 1875 but later demolished to make way for an ugly Civic Centre in 1968. In front of that Civic Centre is a bust of Clarence J. Dennis whilst there is a larger than life statue of him in the Main Street. C. J Dennis the famous poet and story writer was born in Auburn in 1876 but lived for most of his childhood and youth years in Laura before he eventually moved to Melbourne. In 1890 C.J. Dennis began work at the solicitor’s office in the Main Street as a junior law clerk. Dennis left Laura in 1898 when he fell out with his father the publican of one of the Laura Hotels. Between the Civic Centre and the old Courthouse is the fine Masonic Lodge which was built in 1908 but is now used by the local history society as an archive. The Masonic Lodge was formed in Laura in 1878. Other buildings of note are the classical style single room fronted Solicitors Offices in the Main Street near Bristow Street where C.J Dennis was employed and the former Bank of South Australia on the corner of White Street. The main chamber on the Main Street was built late in 1922 but walk down White Street and you can see the old bank with half rounded windows behind it. That part of the bank was built in 1878. It is opposite the former Laura hotel which is now the soap shop.

 

After erecting the first hotels and churches country towns looked to education facilities. In Laura a school opened in 1874 in a small church before the first state school was built in 1877. Additional classrooms were added to the 1877 building in 1883. More buildings have opened since the 1950s. In the 1870s churches were often built of pine and pug with thatched rooves and they were demolished within a couple of decades. The Wesleyan Methodists built the first church in Laura in 1873 opposite the location of the current school. They replaced this structure with their grand stone church in the Main Street in 1888. It is still in use in the Main Street but it is now Redeemer Lutheran Church. The Lutherans purchased this building in the year 2000. The Lutherans also purchased the Primitive Methodist Church in Samuel Street in Laura which was built in 1876. They bought it in 1904, demolished it in 1908 and opened their Easter Lutheran Church on the site in 1909. The Baptist congregation in Laura was strong and they built their church in 1875 and it is still in use by the Baptists. The Catholics built an early church in 1877 with a nearby convent at the same time on land on the outskirts of Laura which was donated by a local farmer Mr Rollison. Both were demolished in 1929 to make way for the current fine Catholic Church. The Anglicans built a church in Laura in 1875 and because Herbert Bristow Hughes of Booyoolee and his family worshiped there he donated funds for the addition of the chancel. The chancel was built in 1883 to the design of Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick.

 

The town had an important flour mill from 1874 which burnt down in 1878 and was then immediately re-built. The mill machinery was manufactured in the May Brothers foundry at Gawler. New machinery was added to the mill in 1893 and it was eventually taken over by the Laura Milling Company in 1915. Extensive improvements such as roller mills were installed and the mill for many years produced and marketed the BEST Laura flour which was known across SA and in Broken Hill. To supplement revenue a chaff mill was also operated in conjunction with the flourmill. The flourmill finally closed in the 1970s and much of it was destroyed in a 2015 arson attack. A butter factory also opened in Laura in 1891 and operated for some years as butter could by then be refrigerated and shipped to England but a lot of it was railed to the growing silver city of Broken Hill. The local area dairy cooperative was established in 1891 to ensure a reliable local milk supply for the factory. During the big droughts around 1900 milk production declined and the factory became a chaff factory. The old milk factory operated as a chaff mill until 1924. But milk processing in Laura did not cease entirely as in 1923 Laura became the home of Golden North. In that year the Laura Ice Company was formed, primarily to supply the local and the Broken Hill trade and the regional city of Port Pirie with ice, milk and ice cream. From 1938 milk was pasteurised at the factory. The brand name Golden North was adopted in 1948. In 1961 the head office was moved from Laura to Clare and the company was taken over by Farmers Union in 1972 which was in turn taken over by National Foods in 1991. Then in 2001 a group of local investors bought the business back from the large companies and they have since expanded production, including the famous Golden North honey ice cream. You can buy Golden North ice cream from the shops in the main street. The company was awarded a state heritage icon award in 2006 and it is a major employer in the town. The old Laura Brewery operated from 1873 until it was purchased by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1893. They promptly closed it down in 1894 as they centralised all their operations in Adelaide by buying and closing country breweries. During World War Two Laura was declared one of four major flax growing areas and it had a flax mill. Ninety two farmers cultivated flax near Laura and almost two thousand acres were sown to flax during the period of the War time shortages. The flax was stored in the old Showgrounds stone Pavilion to the east of the town before it was milled. The flax mill closed in 1947 after opening in 1942. Like many agricultural towns Laura has several blacksmiths and agricultural implement makers such as Silby and Craig, Adamson Brothers and the foundry of Thomas Forsaith which later became Keipert foundry. Laura was also one of the few towns that had its own newspaper the Laura Standard. The Laura Standard was founded in 1888 and their building still remains named in the Main Street. C.J. Dennis had his first verses published in the newspaper in 1895. The Laura Standard was taken over by the Jamestown newspaper in 1942 and disappeared as an independent publication. It became part of the Northern Review newspaper.

 

US-​based Wild Poppy Juice Company has launched a range of juice drinks made with organic fruit from California, sweetened with organic agave nectar and blended with spices from around the world. Packed in 10oz single-​serve glass bottles, the juice is pasteurised and shelf-​stable.

Yankalilla.

The Bungala River valley was one of the first areas of South Australia surveyed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light after the area immediately surrounding the city of Adelaide. In fact on 18 May 1838, just over a year after the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were: 69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla;

20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. The actual surveying of Yankalilla must have occurred a bit later around 1840 as settlement of Yankalilla did not being until 1842 with the arrival of Henry Kemmis, Septimane Herbert and George Worthington who all took up land and built houses. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared and by 1844 there were over 50 acres in wheat and several acres in potatoes. All three families built properties on the northern side of Bungala Creek. Worthington built near what was to become the Anglican Church and Kemmis built Manna Farm near the junction of the road to Victor Harbor and Hebert’s Bungala House became the first house south of Willunga.

 

The establishment of local government occurred in 1854 with the first council meeting taking place in the Normanville Hotel. The council chambers were soon erected in Yankalilla. By the late 1860s Yankalilla and Normanville had three flourmills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches! The breweries had to be local in those days as beer did not keep and could not be easily transported. It was the work of Louis Pasteur that led to beer being pasteurised. Once this happened the small town breweries all closed and beer production was centralised in Adelaide. In the early years of the 1850s and 1860s Yankalilla was one of the biggest and most important towns in the state apart from the mining centres of Kapunda, Burra, Kadina and Moonta.

 

Historically Yankalilla has several worthy buildings. One is the old school house at 48 Main Street which was built by the government in 1859. Several people operated this as a private school. The most famous of these was Sister Mary McKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 who operated this as their first country school outside of Adelaide. It was conducted for 40 Catholic children. The first is the former Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1879. (There was an early Bible Christian Methodist Church in Yankalilla too erected in 1856 but it was demolished decades ago). The other significant building is Christ Church Anglican Church which was opened by Bishop Short in 1857. In recent years it has become the shrine of “Our Lady of Yankalilla” based on markings on the wall which resemble the Virgin Mary cradling a crucified Christ. The local rector reported the “image” in 1994 and it has been a shrine for pilgrims since 1996. The nearby Anglican cemetery has graves dating from 1854.

 

Coir ( /ˈkɔɪər/), or coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the husk of coconut and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut. Other uses of brown coir (made from ripe coconut) are in upholstery padding, sacking and horticulture. White coir, harvested from unripe coconuts, is used for making finer brushes, string, rope and fishing nets.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The English word "coir" comes from the Malayalam and Tamil word 'kayar' (കയർ in Malayalam and கயிறு in Tamil).

 

HISTORY

Ropes and cordage have been made from coconut fibre since ancient times. Indian navigators who sailed the seas to Malaya, Java, China, and the Gulf of Arabia centuries ago used coir for their ship ropes. Arab writers of the 11th century AD referred to the extensive use of coir for ship ropes and rigging.

 

A coir industry in the UK was recorded before the second half of the 19th century. During 1840, Captain Widely, in co-operation with Captain Logan and Mr. Thomas Treloar, founded the known carpet firms of Treloar and Sons in Ludgate Hill, England, for the manufacture of coir into various fabrics suitable for floor coverings.

 

STRUCTURE

Coir fibres are found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut. The individual fibre cells are narrow and hollow, with thick walls made of cellulose. They are pale when immature, but later become hardened and yellowed as a layer of lignin is deposited on their walls. Each cell is about 1 mm long and 10 to 20 µm (0.0004 to 0.0008 in) in diameter. Fibres are typically 10 to 30 centimetres long. The two varieties of coir are brown and white. Brown coir harvested from fully ripened coconuts is thick, strong and has high abrasion resistance. It is typically used in mats, brushes and sacking. Mature brown coir fibres contain more lignin and less cellulose than fibres such as flax and cotton, so are stronger but less flexible. White coir fibres harvested from coconuts before they are ripe are white or light brown in color and are smoother and finer, but also weaker. They are generally spun to make yarn used in mats or rope.

 

The coir fibre is relatively waterproof, and is one of the few natural fibres resistant to damage by saltwater. Fresh water is used to process brown coir, while seawater and fresh water are both used in the production of white coir. It must not be confused with coir pith, or formerly cocopeat, which is the powdery material resulting from the processing of the coir fibre. Coir fibre is locally named 'coprah' in some countries, adding to the confusion.

 

PROCESSING

Green coconuts, harvested after about six to 12 months on the palm, contain pliable white fibres. Brown fibre is obtained by harvesting fully mature coconuts when the nutritious layer surrounding the seed is ready to be processed into copra and desiccated coconut. The fibrous layer of the fruit is then separated from the hard shell (manually) by driving the fruit down onto a spike to split it (dehusking). A well-seasoned husker can manually separate 2,000 coconuts per day. Machines are now available which crush the whole fruit to give the loose fibres. These machines can process up to 2,000 coconuts per hour.

 

BEOWN FIBRE

The fibrous husks are soaked in pits or in nets in a slow-moving body of water to swell and soften the fibres. The long bristle fibres are separated from the shorter mattress fibres underneath the skin of the nut, a process known as wet-milling. The mattress fibres are sifted to remove dirt and other rubbish, dried in the sun and packed into bales. Some mattress fibre is allowed to retain more moisture so it retains its elasticity for twisted fibre production. The coir fibre is elastic enough to twist without breaking and it holds a curl as though permanently waved. Twisting is done by simply making a rope of the hank of fibre and twisting it using a machine or by hand. The longer bristle fibre is washed in clean water and then dried before being tied into bundles or hanks. It may then be cleaned and 'hackled' by steel combs to straighten the fibres and remove any shorter fibre pieces. Coir bristle fibre can also be bleached and dyed to obtain hanks of different colours.

 

WHITE FIBRE

The immature husks are suspended in a river or water-filled pit for up to ten months. During this time, micro-organisms break down the plant tissues surrounding the fibres to loosen them — a process known as retting. Segments of the husk are then beaten by hand to separate out the long fibres which are subsequently dried and cleaned. Cleaned fibre is ready for spinning into yarn using a simple one-handed system or a spinning wheel.

 

Researchers at CSIR's National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram have developed a biological process for the extraction of coir fibre from coconut husk without polluting the environment. The technology uses enzymes to separate the fibres by converting and solubilizing plant compounds to curb the pollution of waters caused by retting of husks.

 

BUFFERING

Because coir pith is high in sodium and potassium, it is treated before use as a growth medium for plants or fungi by soaking in a calcium buffering solution; most coir sold for growing purposes is said to be pre-treated. Once any remaining salts have been leached out of the coir pith, it and the cocochips become suitable substrates for cultivating fungi. Coir is naturally rich in potassium, which can lead to magnesium and calcium deficiencies in soilless horticultural media. Coir fiber is rarely used as a potting material, except for orchids, and does not need buffering, as it has a very low cation-exchange capacity (CEC) capacity, hence not retaining salts.

 

Coir does provide a suitable substrate for horticultural use as a soilless potting medium. The material's high lignin content is longer-lasting, holds more water, and does not shrink off the sides of the pot when dry allowing for easier rewetting. This light media has advantages and disadvantages that can be corrected with the addition of the proper amendment such as coarse sand for weight in interior plants like Draceana. Nutritive amendments should also be considered. Calcium and magnesium will be lacking in coir potting mixes, so a naturally good source of these nutrients is dolomitic lime which contains both. pH is of utmost importance as coir pith tends to have a high pH after some months of use, resulting in plant stunting and multiple deficiencies. Coir has as well the disavantage of being extremely sensitive to the Leucocoprinus greenhouse fungus. The addition of beneficial microbes to the coir media have been successful in tropical green house conditions and interior spaces as well. However, it is important to note that the microbes will engage in growth and reproduction under moist atmospheres producing fruiting bodies (mushrooms).

 

BRISTLE COIR

Bristle coir is the longest variety of coir fibre. It is manufactured from retted coconut husks through a process called defibring. The coir fibre thus extracted is then combed using steel combs to make the fibre clean and to remove short fibres. Bristle coir fibre is used as bristles in brushes for domestic and industrial applications.

 

USES

Cordage, packaging, bedding, flooring, and others

 

Red coir is used in floor mats and doormats, brushes, mattresses, floor tiles and sacking. A small amount is also made into twine. Pads of curled brown coir fibre, made by needle-felting (a machine technique that mats the fibres together), are shaped and cut to fill mattresses and for use in erosion control on river banks and hillsides. A major proportion of brown coir pads are sprayed with rubber latex which bonds the fibres together (rubberised coir) to be used as upholstery padding for the automobile industry in Europe. The material is also used for insulation and packaging.

 

The major use of white coir is in rope manufacture. Mats of woven coir fibre are made from the finer grades of bristle and white fibre using hand or mechanical looms. White coir also is used to make fishing nets due to its strong resistance to saltwater.

 

AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL USES

In agriculture and horticulture, coir is a substitute for sphagnum (peat moss) and peat because it is widely available and environmentally friendly. Many sources of coir however are heavily contaminated with pathogenic fungi, and the choice of the source is important. Coir is also useful to deter snails from delicate plantings, and as a growing medium in intensive glasshouse (greenhouse) horticulture.

 

Coconut coir from Mexico has been found to contain large numbers of colonies of the beneficial fungus Aspergillus terreus, which acts as a biological control against plant pathogenic fungi.

 

Coir is also used as a substrate to grow mushrooms. The coir is usually mixed with vermiculite and pasteurised with boiling water. After the coir/vermiculite mix has cooled to room temperature, it is placed in a larger container, usually a plastic box. Previously prepared spawn jars are then added, spawn is usually grown in jars using substrates such as rye grains or wild bird seed. This spawn is the mushrooms mycelium and will colonize the coir/vermiculite mix eventually fruiting mushrooms.

 

Coir is an allergen, as well as the latex and other materials used frequently in the treatment of coir.

 

Coir can be used as a terrarium substrate for reptiles or arachnids.

 

Coir fibre pith or coir dust can hold large quantities of water, just like a sponge. It is used as a replacement for traditional peat in soil mixtures, or, as a soil-less substrate for plant cultivation. It has been called "coco peat" because it is to fresh coco fibre somewhat like what peat is to peat moss, although it is not true peat.

 

Coir waste from coir fibre industries is washed, heat-treated, screened and graded before being processed into coco peat products of various granularity and denseness, which are then used for horticultural and agricultural applications and as industrial absorbent.

 

Usually shipped in the form of compressed bales, briquettes, slabs or discs, the end user usually expands and aerates the compressed coco peat by the addition of water. A single kilogramme of dry coco peat will expand to 15 litres of moist coco peat.

 

Coco peat is used as a soil conditioner. Due to low levels of nutrients in its composition, coco peat is usually not the sole component in the medium used to grow plants. When plants are grown exclusively in coco peat, it is important to add nutrients according to the specific plants' needs. Coco peat from Philippines, Sri Lanka and India contains several macro- and micro-plant nutrients, including substantial quantities of potassium. This extra potassium can interfere with magnesium availability. Adding extra magnesium through the addition of magnesium sulphates can correct this issue.

 

Some coco peat is not fully decomposed when it arrives and will use up available nitrogen as it does so (known as drawdown), competing with the plant if there is not enough. This is called nitrogen robbery; it can cause nitrogen deficiency in the plants. Poorly sourced coco fibre can have excess salts in it and needs washing (check electrical conductivity of run-off water, flush if high). It holds water well and holds around 1000 times more air than soil. Adding slow release fertilizers or organic fertilizers are highly advised when growing with coco fibre.

 

Common uses of coco fibre include:

 

As a substitute for peat, because it is free of bacteria and most fungal spores, and is sustainably produced without the environmental damage caused by peat mining.

Mixed with sand, compost and fertilizer to make good quality potting soil. Coco peat generally has an acidity in the range of pH - 5.5 to 6.5, which is slightly too acidic for some plants, but many popular plants can tolerate this pH range.

As substrate for growing mushrooms, which thrive on the cellulose. Coco peat has high cellulose and lignin content.

 

Coco fibre can be re-used up to three times with little loss of yield. Coco fibre from diseased plants should not be re-used.

Others

 

Being a good absorbent, dry coco peat can be used as an oil absorbent on slippery floors. Coco peat is also used as a bedding in animal farms and pet houses to absorb animal waste so the farm is kept clean and dry. Coco fibre is hydrophilic unlike sphagnum moss and can quickly reabsorb water even when completely dry. Coco peat is porous and cannot be overwatered easily.

 

BIOSECURITY RISKS

Coco fibre can harbour organisms that pose a threat to the biosecurity of countries into which it is imported. Coco peat has been imported into New Zealand since about 1989 with a marked increase since 2004. By 2009 a total of 25 new weed species have been found in imported coco peat. The regulations relating to importing coco peat into New Zealand have been amended to improve the biosecurity measures.

 

Trichoderma is a naturally occurring fungus in coco peat; it works in symbiosis with plant roots to protect them from pathogenic fungi such as pythium. It is not present in sterilised coco peat. Trichoderma is also destroyed by hydrogen peroxide.

 

MAJOT PRODUCERS

Total world coir fibre production is 250,000 tonnes (250,000 long tons; 280,000 short tons) This industry is particularly important in some areas of the developing world. India, mainly in Pollachi and the coastal region of Kerala State, produces 60% of the total world supply of white coir fibre. Sri Lanka produces 36% of the total brown fibre output. Over 50% of the coir fibre produced annually throughout the world is consumed in the countries of origin, mainly India. Together, India and Sri Lanka produce 90% of the coir produced every year. Sri Lanka remains the world's largest exporter of coir fibre and coir fibre based products.

 

WIKIPEDIA

William Johnston migrated from Glasgow to SA in 1839 with his wife and seven children. In 1840 he obtained some land which he called Oakbank. He had worked as a distiller in Scotland and soon began brewing beer for the local market as well as farming. By 1844 he had sown 50 acres in wheat, 12 acres in barley and four acres in potatoes. His sons James( 1818-1891) and Andrew ( 1827-1886) became pioneering Scots of the district. With their father William they started a brewery in 1843 as there was a good local supply of water- the Onkaparinga River. Father William died in 1853 and the two brothers took over the brewery. They manufactured cordials and aerated waters as well as beer and they later joined the Lion Brewery in Adelaide and they founded another brewery of their own in Broken Hill. The brothers owned around 2,500 acres in the district and in 1860 they subdivided some of their land to form almost a company town which they named Oakbank after a factory in their hometown of Glasgow. They bought up many of the town blocks and provided some housing for their workers. Earlier in 1850 they had done likewise with the foundation of Woodside which they named after a village they knew in Scotland near Dundee. But Oakbank was their hometown with their own mansions. Oakbank House (James Johnston) is near the racecourse and near the brewery. It was built around 1865 as a grand two-storey house with wrought iron balconies and lace work, blue stone, bay window and all in the Italianate style. The fine proportions of the house were set off with a long driveway lined with gum trees. The lace wrought iron work was imported from a Glasgow foundry! The Johnstons were not short of money by this time! Brewing was a profitable industry. The original house that Andrew built was further away from the Onkaparinga River in Pike Street called Dalintober, built around 1855. Unfortunately there is not much visible of this grand house from the street. Both James and Andrew worshipped at the Church of Scotland, Presbyterian, at nearby Inverbrackie where they were later buried.

 

The Oakbank brewery reached its peak in the 1890s for beer production before the pasteurisation of beer became common and most country breweries closed as production was concentrated in Adelaide. Their hops came from Lobethal, Woodside and Tasmania for their beer. They employed around 20 men and had horses carting brewed beer to Strathalbyn, Hahndorf, Mt Barker, Nairne etc. They supplied the annual race meeting at Oakbank as the racing club had been formed in 1874 on part of Andrew Johnston’s land. Andrew was a founding member of the Oakbank Racing Club. Once Andrew died in 1886 and brother James in 1891 the next generation of sons expanded the Johnston Brewery company. They formed a family company in 1901 and expanded the number of Johnston owned hotels from Woodside (1850) to over 20 hotels. They stopped producing beer in 1914 but their factory still produces aerated waters (soft drinks). The Johnston family company still owns 19 SA hotels from Milang to Mt Pleasant, Callington, Mannum and more. Since 2002 they have started producing their own wine. They are thought to be the longest surviving SA family company. There was a rival brewer in Oakbank from 1885 when Henry Pike, an Englishman, established a second brewery in town. He too purchased a chain of hotels before ceasing to produce beer from 1938 when the Pike brewery too concentrated on cordials and aerated drinks. The Pikes factory finally closed in 1973. The Johnstons were great local benefactors donating land for the RSL in Woodside, the oval at Stirling next to the hotel that they then owned, and the institute land at Littlehampton etc.

 

There are few public buildings in Oakbank but the Primitive Methodists did erect a church in the town in 1863. They built a second church next to the original one in 1887. It is now a private residence. When the branch railway line from Balhannah to Mt Pleasant was put through in 1919 it passed close by this Methodist church. The train line was especially used to transport thousands of racer goers to the Easter Racing Carnival at Oakbank each year.