Welcome to Glastonbury: The Glastonbury Thorn(s)

Wearyall Hill, Easter Monday 2008

The Glastonbury Thorn (Glastonbury Abbey)

One of Glastonbury's more charming and enduring legends is that of he Glastonbury Holy Thorn. Joesph of Arimathea, Jesus' great uncle and the owner of the tomb where Jesus' body was lain after his crucifixion, is said to have brought the now famous hawthorn to Glastonbury when he visited England during hs mission to spread the word of Christianity throughout the land.

The Glastonbury Thorn, Wearyall Hill

Glastonbury Tor, Glimpsed Through the Dressed Branches of The Glastonbury Holy Thorn

Arriving at Glastonbury, which was then a series of island hills rising from the flooded Somerset Levels, it is believed that Joseph of Arimathea climbed Wearyall Hill to plant the staff which once belonged to Jesus (which came into his possession at the time of his nephew's death - Joseph being Jesus' last surviving male relative). As the staff was pushed into the fertile soil of Wearyall Hill, it is recorded that it magically took root and sprouted branches and leaves - ecoming Glastonbury's famous Holy Thorn tree. More than this, whereas Hawthorns usually only flower once a year - in the Spring, the Glastonbury Holy Thorn flowers twice yearly - it's blossoms coinciding with Christianity's greatest festivals - Christmas and Easter. This was believed by many to be symbolic of the trees celebration of its original owner's birth and resurrection. The Glastonbury Holy Thorn's fame was thus sealed.

The Glastonbury Thorn in Flower Outside St. John's Church (Christmas 2007)

The Rare Winter Blooming of The Glastonbury Thorn -
It's Christmas Blossoms are Smaller Than It's Summer Display
(Chalice Well Gardens 2007)

So famous and prized did the flowers of the Glastonbury Thorn's Christmas blooms become, that it's petals were once prized and sent all over the world. Even today, they are used in products made for sale at Glastonbury's Chalice Well Gardens. Cuttings from the Glastonbury Thorn are also sent to the Queen for display on her dinner table each Christmas - a tradition started by James Montague, Bishop of Bath and Wells during the reign of James I when he sent a cutting of the Holy Thorn to Queen Anne.

The Glastonbury Holy Thorn (Glimsped on the Horizon in the Background)

Perhaps outside the religious debate (but, gain, perhaps not), the Glastonbury Thorn seems to have held both a memory of it's native origins (in Palestine, Hawthorns flower in December) whilst also adopting the British flowering time each Spring.

To dispel the religious superstition surrounding the Glastonbury Thorn, which by the Middle Ages was attracting pilgrims from around the world, Puritan Roundhead soldiers from the Cromwellian army cut down the tree. Fortunately, cuttings from the Thorn had already been gathered and today direct descendants of the original Glastonbury Holy Thorn can be seen not only on Wearyall Hill but at numerous other locations across Glastonbury.