Background to the formation of the Glaston Group

Glastonbury has always been a centre of pilgrimage and this is reflected in its numerous myths and legends; of Bronze Age people paddling their dug out canoes from villages in the tidal marshes bringing their dead for burial on the firm ground of the sacred island of Glaston, of a Druid college where pilgrims could come for instruction including (some say) Jesus as a boy, of a dying Arthur, being rowed across to the Isle of Avalon after his last battle in preparation for his final journey.

Glastonbury emerges from the mist of legend into the light of historical fact with the great Benedictine Abbey. In its heyday, it was one of the richest in England having built up enormous wealth in land and property through gifts from pilgrims and donations from the powerful. People were prepared to pay the monks handsomely to pray for their eternal souls and to be buried in its hallowed soil. The Abbey had some 50 choir monks and 100 lay brothers, owned all of the surrounding land and farms and most of the properties in Glastonbury itself. The townspeople supplied the labour for the farms and the services such as laundry, blacksmiths, butchers, candle makers etc which had been set up by the Abbey. As the Abbey increased in size, the town of Glastonbury grew to support it. Some believe that the townspeople resented the over-mighty monks who owned and controlled everything; others feel that there was a clear understanding of the relationship between the spiritual activities of the monks and the substantial wealth that flowed into the town – either way, the town prospered.

Photo © Lesley Delamont

All this came to an end in 1539 with the dissolution of the Abbey by Henry VIII. The monks were pensioned off, the Abbey dismantled and there was a hollow shell at the centre of the town instead of the beating heart of the Abbey. The entire purpose of the town had disappeared almost overnight. Gradually new landlords appeared, the farms kept going and the town found itself a modest purpose as a small market town.

Understandably, many of those born in Glastonbury find all this bit of a mystery. With the town’s origins long since forgotten, it is often seen as simply a small market town with a few interesting Abbey ruins and a high hill with a tower on top. As a result the services offered to the conventional tourist compare well with any other small town in England. But the additional services needed by the growing band of pilgrim visitors, whilst many in number, are fragmented and difficult to find.

Photo © Lesley Delamont

In 2004 a small group of local residents got together to explore how services offered to pilgrims might be improved. They met fortnightly and their own ideas steadily clarified. They realised that no real progress could be made without wider support from others also interested in serving pilgrims. The decision was taken to publish a small booklet to present these ideas and to see what support might arise. In October 2004 the group, now calling itself the ‘Glaston Group’, published a booklet entitled ‘Glastonbury – a pilgrim’s perspective’. 150 copies of this booklet were circulated to people whom the group members knew personally. Encouragingly, 70 people responded with support for the ideas put forward. All respondents were subsequently invited to a gathering on 14th March at Glastonbury’s Abbey retreat house. 67 people attended and a consensus emerged that it was time for a greater degree of co-operation between pilgrim service providers. A number of very useful ideas were suggested.

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