Pilgrims still make the journey to Glastonbury Abbey where they are able to take part in church services that are held in St Patrick’s Chapel.

Every week throughout the year, services are held in St Patrick’s Chapel which was founded by Abbot Richard Beere in 1500 and so has been witness to 500 years of Christian worship.

Summer – a Saturday in June – is the high point of the modern-day Glastonbury Pilgrimage. Begun by a few local Somerset churches in 1924, the pilgrimage has become a public expression of personal faith.

Groups of worshippers come from all over Britain and Europe. At noon, the pilgrims gather to process down Glastonbury High Street, with banners flying and then return to the ruined nave of the abbey church, where Eucharist is celebrated.

Several thousand people take part in this service, presided over by bishops and priests and receive the Holy Sacrament.

On the same day, an Orthodox service is held in the ruins of the Lady Chapel to venerate the icon of Our Lady of Glastonbury; Musicians, choirs and actors also entertain the pilgrims as the day progresses. The day culminates with the Christian multitude celebrating Evensong in the nave of the abbey church at 3.30pm.

In early July, on a Sunday, the Roman Catholic pilgrimage comes to the abbey. A procession is made around the abbey grounds, then out into the High Street and back to the abbey via the main entrance, in Magdalene Street. Bishops and visiting dignitaries lead the singing pilgrims in procession. On return to the abbey, Mass is celebrated in the Nave of the Abbey Church at 3.30pm.

Situated in front of St Patrick’s Church is a statue of Sigeric, a former monk at Glastonbury who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 990:

He travelled to Rome on a pilgrimage and kept a diary of his return journey to Canterbury along the Via Francigena (Via Romea), a route much-used by merchants, pilgrims, scholars, soldiers and ordinary men and women. In 1985, using Sigeric’s chronicle as a guide, the route was mapped out again and pilgrims can once more tread the road used by their medieval predecessors.*

*From Glastonbury – The Isle of Avalon handbook

The Lady Chapel is one of the finest late 12th century buildings in Europe. It stands on the site of an earlier timber church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and claimed to have been founded by Joseph of Arimathea. The ‘Old Church’ was burnt in a great fire in 1184, along with many of the abbey’s buildings. The site was so sacred to the monastery and its pilgrims that rebuilding started immediately.

King Henry II’s chamberlain Ralph Fitzstephen oversaw the building work while no abbot was in post. He “completed the church of St Mary in the place where from the beginning the vetusta ecclesia [old church] had stood, building it of squared stone fo the most beautiful workmanship, omitting no possible ornament” (Adam of Domerham, 13th century).

The new chapel was deliberately constructed in a conservative Norman style to emphasise the antiquity of the site. The ornate building with four corner turrets was perhaps designed to resemble a precious reliquary or shrine.

This impressive doorway is carve with detailed sculptures illustrating the Life of the Virgin. Highly skilled stone carvers undertook the work on site. A similar grand entrance lies on the south side of the chapel. There the sculptures were never completed, perhaps because royal funding suddenly ended with the death of Henry II in 1189.

Click on the picture below for an explanation of some of the doorway carvings.

In the year 1191 the bodies of King Arthur and his Queen were said to have been found on the south side of the Lady Chapel. On 19th April 1278 their remains were removed in the presence of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor to a black marble tomb on this site. This tomb survived until the dissolution of the Abbey in 1539.

The symbol of our Faith, the gift of Queen Elizabeth II marks a Christian Sanctuary. So ancient that only legend, can  record its origin.

The Saxons, who had been converted to Christianity, conquered the ancient county of Somerset in the 7th Century. Their King was Ine of Wessex, who was widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the abbey. He was a local man who boosted the status and income of the abbey, and it is said that he put up a stone church, the base of which forms the west end of the nave.

This church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, St. Dunstan, who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960.

In 1066, the wealth of the abbey could not cushion the Saxon monks from the disruption caused by the foreign invasion and subsequent conquest of England by the Normans.

Skilled Norman craftspeople contributed much to the abbey by adding magnificent buildings to the existing Saxon Church. These were built to the east of the older church and away from the ancient cemetery.

The Norman betterment of the abbey was extensive. In 1086, when the Domesday Book was commissioned to provide records and a census of life in England, Glastonbury Abbey was the richest monastery in the country.

The great Norman structures were consumed by fire in 1184 when many of the ancient treasures were destroyed.

The bed was so comfortable that I drifted off to sleep very quickly. I woke up to lovely morning light glowing through one of the windows, I quietly got up and read the guide book to Wells whilst Mr C slept a little longer. Breakfast was served in the orangery which has a fabulous view looking over the garden towards the cathedral. There was a beautifully presented fruit platter on the table when we arrived. Stoberry House serves a substantial continental breakfast with artisan bread, scones, pastries  fruit, cereal, local cheeses, meat, fish, jams and marmalade. It was all home made or locally sourced. We learned that the breakfast was Michelin starred and we could see why. Mr C had opted for the optional cooked breakfast which was served on a platter.

After breakfast we drove to the bottom of the drive, parked the car and walked into Wells. The weather didn’t look very promising so we chose to  visit the cathedral first. We took our time enjoying the space and the impressive scissor arches. I was pleased to discover that Wells cathedral also has a chained library. Chained libraries fascinate me because they remind me of a time when knowledge was wealth. We watched the cathedral’s medieval timepiece chime 12 o’clock; this was followed by a reflective prayer. I also lit a candle for my dad and remembered him on his birthday. I browsed the cathedral shop before we having lunch in the cafe.

The weather was still dark and mizzly so we decided to leave the Bishop’s Palace and Gardens for a day when the weather was less questionable. We made our way back to the car and set off for Glastonbury. Due to the lack of signposts and some very slow traffic it took us about 45 minutes to do what should have been a 20 minute journey!  We visited the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey but didn’t have time to visit it the Tor. Maybe next time… Before leaving Glastonbury we had a cup of tea in the Abbey Tea Rooms and shared a florentine.

Back at Stoberry House I relaxed in the bath with a glass of sherry before heading to Goodfellows for dinner. The food and service were excellent and we ended up on a table next to our fellow residents with whom we had been chatting the previous evening.  I chose the Mediterranean vegetable tart and, for dessert, Mr C and I shared a strawberry and cheese tartlet which was served with strawberry sorbet. By the time we left the restaurant the mizzle had stopped . We returned to the B&B and enjoyed a cool glass of wine in our room whilst reading before retiring to the comfortable bed for another good nights sleep.