he remains of Glastonbury Abbey are situated in Somerset in what was once a marshy landscape of small interconnected islands known as Avalon. A history of the Abbey was written by William of Malmsbury in around 1120. William's original work was lost in the fire that destroyed the abbey in 1184 but sections of that information made it into other written material and has survived. William states that in the early second century a British ruler called King Lucius returned from Rome with several missionaries and instructions to build a Christian church. The church known as the 'Old Church' was built on the site the present abbey remains. The Saxons also used the site for worship and construction of a better church was performed in the seventh century under King Ina (Ine). Under the Saxon King Edgar and Dunstan, who became the abbot, the abbey of Glastonbury flourished. Dunstan became abbot of Glastonbury in around 940 and under the Rule of St. Benedict the abbey's monks began to follow a stricter way of Christian life. The prosperity of the abbey also grew with the help of its wealthy patrons who donated money in return for the monks saying prayers for them. Dunstan also began a period of reconstruction work increasing the size of the church.

After the Conquest of 1066 the Normans took control at the abbey. The Norman abbots Turstin and Herlwin (1101-1120) both undertook building work to improved the abbey. But in May of 1184 a major fire broke out and badly damaged the church. The 'Old Church' was replaced with a new building and the Lady Chapel was complete enough to be consecrated in 1186. The Lady Chapel, located at the west end of the church, can still be seen today.

Myths and Legends

The abbey is linked to both the Holy Grail and King Arthur. Legend states that Joseph of Arimathea travelled to Avalon with either the Holy Grail or some other Holy relic and buried it near the abbey. King Arthur is associated with the abbey. In 1191 the graves of two people believed to be King Arthur and Queen Guinevere were uncovered in the cemetery. The find would have been very well timed as the church was going through a large amount of building work and the donations given by pilgrims visiting the site to see the remains of Arthur would have been most welcome.

Dissolution

The Abbey was confiscated from the Church as were many others in the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII. The last abbot of at Glastonbury was Richard Whiting and when he refused to hand over the abbey he was arrested and executed for treason at the top of Glastonbury Tor.

Mr Bligh Bond

At the beginning on the twentieth century a man called Bligh Bond claimed that he could receive information from long-dead members of the abbey about the locations of the buried structures. The information was sent to him in the form of automatic writing, where Bond would hold the pen but the movements were controlled by the spirits. Whether his explanation is true or not he did uncover several lost sections of the church.