Glastonbury Abbey

Major English monastic and pilgrimage heritage site surrounded by long-standing traditions concerning early Christianity and Joseph of Arimathea. The site is in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The abbey developed into a major Benedictine house and was dissolved in 1539.

Archaeology and documentary history do not substantiate all later claims about its earliest origins. Glastonbury became one of medieval England’s richest and most influential Benedictine abbeys before its suppression in 1539. It also accumulated a remarkable body of sacred and legendary associations.

Later tradition linked the site with Joseph of Arimathea and the earliest Christianity in Britain, while monks announced the discovery of graves identified as King Arthur and Guinevere in 1191. The abbey itself distinguishes these traditions and later legends from what archaeology and documentary history can establish.

Later tradition links Glastonbury with Joseph of Arimathea and the beginnings of Christianity in Britain; the abbey itself distinguishes these stories from documented history. Medieval pilgrims also sought spiritual benefit and healing at associated chapels and relics. Its recognised heritage context is: Scheduled and nationally significant monastic ruins.

Its sacred history is now read largely through ruins, archaeology and landscape rather than through a resident religious community. Current access arrangements should be checked with the body responsible for the site.