Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Baltonsborough, was the abbot in the 10th century and later became Archbishop of
Canterbury. Edmund, Edgar, and Edmund “Ironside,” three early English kings,
were buried here.
Another famous chapter in the story, popularized by Tennyson in the Victorian era,
holds that King Arthur and Queen Guinevere were buried on the abbey grounds. In
1191, monks supposedly dug up the skeletons of two bodies on the south side of the
Lady Chapel, said to be those of the king and queen. In 1278, in the presence of
Edward I, the bodies were removed and transferred to a black marble tomb in the
choir. Both the burial spot and the shrine are marked.
In 1184, a fire destroyed most of the abbey and its vast treasures. It was eventually
rebuilt, after much difficulty, only to be dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. Its last
abbot, Richard Whiting, was hanged at Glastonbury Tor. The best-preserved building
on the lovely 15-hectare (36-acre) grounds is a 14th-century octagonal Abbot's
Kitchen, where oxen were once roasted whole to feed the wealthier pilgrims.
The on-site shop sells award-winning
Glastonbury Abbey Cider
8
, made using
apples from the abbey's orchards.
Magdalene St., Glastonbury.
&
01458/832267.
www.glastonburyabbey.com. Admission £5.50 adults,
£5 students and seniors, £3.50 children 5-15, £16 family ticket. Dec-Jan daily 10am-4:30pm; Feb daily
10am-5pm; Mar daily 9:30am-5:30pm; Apr-May and Sept daily 9:30am-6pm; June-Aug daily 9am-
6pm; Oct daily 9:30am-5pm; Nov daily 9:30am-4:30pm.
Somerset Rural Life Museum
MUSEUM The centerpiece of this museum
chronicling the working history of the Somerset countryside is the Abbey Barn,
built around 1370—a magnificent timbered room with stone tiles and sculptural
details including the head of King Edward III. Exhibits in the Victorian farmhouse
illustrate farming in Somerset during the “horse age,” as well as rural domestic and
social life in Victorian times. In summer, the museum stages demonstrations of
butter-making, weaving, basketwork, and other traditional craft activities that are
rapidly disappearing.
Abbey Farm, Chilkwell St., Glastonbury.
&
01458/831197.
Free admission. Tues-Sat 10am-5pm. Closed
Jan 1, Good Friday, and Dec 25-28.
Where to Eat
The best place in Glastonbury itself for top-quality pub grub is the
Who'd A
Thought It Inn,
17 Northload St. (
&
01458/834460;
www.whodathoughtit.
co.uk). Classic dishes such as local pork sausages with mustard mash or steak-and-ale
pie are faultlessly executed in pleasant, traditional surroundings. Main courses range
from £8 to £11. The ales are supplied by Palmer's, a traditional brewer based on the
Dorset coast.
Hundred Monkeys
INTERNATIONAL/VEGETARIAN This friendly, vaguely
hippie cafe-restaurant serves up everything from organic brunch to North African-
flavored vegetarian dinners. The daily chalkboard dining menu is especially well
suited to vegetarians—this is Glastonbury, after all—but always includes meat dishes,
too. Expect the likes of winter vegetable ragout with goat's cheese and polenta, or a
“Bolognese” of local beef with spaghetti. Outside of mealtimes, the range of specialty
teas and homebaked cakes is superb, and the understated jazz soundtrack gives the
place an unintrusive, slightly funky feel.
52 High St., Glastonbury.
&
01458/833386.
Reservations recommended at weekend evenings and
Sun lunch. Main courses £8-£11. MC, V. Mon-Tues 10am-8pm; Wed-Thurs 10am-4pm, Fri-Sat 10am-
9pm; Sun 11am-4pm.
