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Glastonbury Tor, Somerset

Glastonbury Tor is a dramatic conical hill which rises 521 feet above the Somerset Levels. Finds of prehistoric and Roman objects suggest a long history of human use. Although archeological evidence has not been found to support the idea that Glastonbury Tor was an ancient religious site, local folklore suggests that it might have been. There are Celtic legends of the Tor as the entrance to Annwn, the underworld realm of the fairy folk. More evidence of the Tor being revered as a religious site comes from the establishment of a Christian monastery there in the sixth century. It was common for the Christian Church to use old pagan sites. These churches were then often dedicated to St Michael, whose power was invoked in "purifying" them. The monastery on Glastonbury Tor was dedicated to St Michael.

It could be, however, that Glastonbury Tor had a duel function. Religious sites are often built on poor soil. Land which lacks usefulness in producing food is naturally available for other uses. Poor sandy soils in Suffolk became the sacred site of Sutton Hoo, while the poor chalky soil of Salisbury Plain is home to Stonehenge. Glastonbury Tor once stood on a peninsula reaching out into what was first a sea, and then a vast lake, which covered what is now the Somerset Levels. Low lying land here would have been waterlogged and difficult to farm. But the Tor offered a dry refuge, and ledges cut into the hillside perhaps reveal efforts to create flat pasture for grazing animals. There is a strong possibility that the tor was too useful to be a religious site. On the other hand the hill rose strikingly out of the sea, and hills had long been potent symbols. Hills offered refuge and security, serving as sites for forts, consisting of earth banks built around hill tops. At Avebury in Wiltshire a conical hill, Silbury Hill, was actually created on the flat plain by piling up thousands of tons of chalk. The security people sought in building their hill forts was reflected in the sacred monuments they created in searching for spiritual security. Glastonbury Tor would have fitted this description very well, a hill almost surrounded by water, a natural fortress symbolising security for people leading insecure lives.

View from Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury Tor probably never became a formal shrine in the sense of Stonehenge or Silbury Hill. Some observers, such as Geoffrey Russell, have argued that the terraces on the hillside represent a ritual labyrinth which was slowly followed to the top. But this theory does not seem to receive much support. The Tor's land was probably too useful to be given up in such a way. But the striking appearance of the hill almost certainly led to the Tor being revered as something beyond useful farmland. In this way stories began to surround it, and even in being useful, Glastonbury Tor became, in a vague way, a sacred site. It became the entrance to fairyland, and the birthplace of King Arthur. As such the Christian Church thought it necessary to build their own monastery up there, to claim a former shrine as their own.

From the time the Tor monastery was built, there was a strong link with the abbey in Glastonbury. In 1539, during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, the last abbot of Glastonbury, Richard Whyting was executed on the Tor.

The beguiling appearance of the Tor is undiminished today, with thousands of people every year climbing to the church tower. There are wonderful views from the top. From up there you can see the shape of the old peninsula on which the town of Glastonbury stands, and Glastonbury's ruined Abbey.

Directions: Glastonbury Tor is just outside Glastonbury in Somerset. After parking in the town you can either walk to the Tor, which takes about three quarters of an hour, or catch a bus from the main car park, which takes you to the base of the hill. Click here for an interactive map centred on Glastonbury Tor.

Opening Times: Open at any time

Address: Glastonbury Tor, near Glastonbury, Somerset.

Access: The climb up is steep and is not for those with mobility problems. However, the first part of the climb goes up through gently sloping Moneybox Field. From here you can still appreciate views across the Somerset Levels. When I visited, a group of people in motorised wheelchairs were enjoying the view from the top of this field.

Contact:

telephone: 01934 844518

e-mail: glastonburytor@nationaltrust.org.uk

web site: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-glastonburytor/