Joseph of Arimathæa
The sites and sights
of Glastonbury
Written by
Sig Lonegren
with Palden Jenkins, Liz Pearson and the Friends of Bride's Mound
Pilgrimage and Glastonbury are synonymous.
Joseph of Arimathæa (some say he was Jesus's uncle) was an early pilgrim to Glastonbury. In his search to buy tin and lead, he discovered this Isle of Glass (Ynys Witrin) – Glastonbury. William Blake, in his moving hymn Jerusalem, suggested that Joseph brought Jesus here before his ministry began.
Glastonbury had been sacred site for millennia. At the time of Joseph's arrival, it was sacred to the Druids. It is said that these Celtic wise men had one of their perpetual choirs here – a choir working twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, enchanting the land. Since St. Joseph's time, pilgrims have been drawn to Glastonbury for many different reasons.
Glastonbury Abbey was a major attraction, and Arthurian connections to the Isle of Avalon add to its drawing power.
In the first half of the 20th Century, Alice Buckton, a mystic and owner of the Chalice Well before the present Chalice Well Trust, developed a pilgrimage route to guide seekers to many of the sacred sites of Glastonbury. Today, eighty years later, pilgrims still come to experience the spirit of Glastonbury - in ever greater numbers.
Please come on the Glastonbury Pilgrims Trail with us. Click on the Glastonbury Pilgrims Trail icon below.
May the Spirit
of Glastonbury
Be With You!
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