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Let's
start with some facts about the town of Glastonbury:
- It's
surrounded by the Somerset Levels and the River Brue runs between
it and the nearest town, Street.
- In
1996, it had a population of just over 8,000.
- The
nearest railway station is eight miles away at Castle Cary.
The
Tor
Glastonbury's
most famous landmark is the Tor, which can be seen for miles around
- and it's certainly visible from the festival site at Worthy Farm.
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Glastonbury
Tor - without the scaffolding! |
On
the Tor's summit is St Michael's Tower, which is a ruined 14th-century
church tower.
It's
currently covered in scaffolding while the mortar of the tower is
replaced - the current mortar is made of cement and is damaging
the tower.
The
Tor has a bloody past - the last abbot of Glastonbury, Richard Whiting,
was executed on top of the Tor in 1539 for his adherence to the
Roman Catholic faith.
The
Abbey
And
that's where the town's other main landmark, the Abbey, comes in
- they stuck the abbot's severed head on the Abbey's gate after
his execution.
Glastonbury
Abbey is thought originally to have been established in the 4th
or 5th century.
Joseph
of Arimathea is thought by some to have brought the Holy Grail -
the chalice of the Last Supper containing the blood of Jesus - to
Glastonbury, and to have built the first Christian church on the
site of the Abbey.
What
is known more clearly is that in AD688, the Saxon King Ine founded
the first monastery there.
St
Dunstan, who became abbot of Glastonbury in about 940, introduced
the Benedictine order.
In
1191, seven years after a fire had destroyed the abbey completely,
monks 'found' the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere - quite possibly
as a publicity ruse to attract pilgrims and their money.
Mystical
atmosphere
Added
to all the stories and legends around Glastonbury, there's lots
of talk about ley-lines and the Glastonbury Zodiac - the local geography
marks out the signs of the zodiac.
If
you go to Glastonbury, you'll find it's got a somewhat mystical
atmosphere with many New Age shops in the town centre.
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