:00:07. > :00:12.Glastonbury, in Somerset. A stunning landscape, bordered by the
:00:12. > :00:15.Mendip Hills to the north, and the ocean to the West. It's the site of
:00:15. > :00:18.some of the most extraordinary events that Britain has ever seen.
:00:19. > :00:22.I'm Tom Craine, and I'm going on a tour of Glastonbury, to discover
:00:22. > :00:28.its rich and colourful history, and to uncover its layers of legend and
:00:28. > :00:37.mystery. Having grown up here in Somerset, I'm keen to investigate
:00:37. > :00:40.one of its most well-known towns. It's like you're sucking on a coin.
:00:40. > :00:44.Starting 2,000 years ago, with the arrival of Christianity to British
:00:44. > :00:48.shores. So, these carvings are the flat screen TVs of their day? I'll
:00:48. > :00:56.explore the co-existence of religion and ancient paganism.
:00:56. > :00:58.free love making, the naked dancing. I'll discover the impact of
:00:58. > :01:02.legendary Medieval Kings on the region, until the devastating
:01:02. > :01:08.actions of Henry VIII. When did this lovely building become less of
:01:08. > :01:14.a building? And I'll attempt to separate fact from fiction. This is
:01:14. > :01:24.Warner Brothers, where was Camelot? This is surely one of the most
:01:24. > :01:34.fascinating towns in the UK. I just feel my heart expand with joy when
:01:34. > :01:54.
:01:54. > :01:59.Ynis Witrin, the Isle of Glass, Avalon. All names given to the town
:01:59. > :02:06.of Glastonbury. It used to be surrounded by water. An ancient
:02:06. > :02:08.island. My exploration into its vast history starts atop Wearyall
:02:08. > :02:16.Hill, so called after some weary travellers arrived here to bring
:02:16. > :02:21.Christianity to Europe. My guide around Glastonbury is Tor Webster.
:02:21. > :02:24.He tells me the story of Jesus' Uncle, Joseph. The story goes that
:02:24. > :02:28.Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdelene, and also Mary the Mother,
:02:28. > :02:38.all came here in a boat, 12 of them, and Joseph of Arimathea was given a
:02:38. > :02:38.
:02:38. > :02:47.staff by Jesus. He planted his staff in the ground and it took
:02:47. > :02:51.root and it started to grow. thorn tree is thought to originate
:02:51. > :02:56.from Palestine. Its descendants now flourish around Glastonbury, unlike
:02:56. > :03:00.the original. The holy thorn tree has had quite a troubled existence,
:03:00. > :03:04.hasn't it, throughout its time. I'm a right in thinking that this isn't
:03:04. > :03:06.actually the original, if we just step over here. Can you tell me
:03:07. > :03:11.about this stone here? This stone was placed here where the original
:03:11. > :03:13.stood. It was planted here, and about 300-years-ago, a puritan cut
:03:13. > :03:22.it down because of the connection with Joseph of Arimathea, because
:03:22. > :03:27.it didn't fit in with the Christian story from Rome. The tree was
:03:27. > :03:34.replanted on the hill. But it recently suffered a similar fate.
:03:34. > :03:39.In December 2010, it was cut down in an act of vandalism. In April
:03:39. > :03:44.this year, it was once again replanted. But it too has been
:03:44. > :03:53.destroyed by vandals. Next, I'm heading to another place where
:03:53. > :03:58.Joseph of Arimathea is said to have visited. The Chalice Well is among
:03:58. > :04:03.the best known holy wells in Britain. Joseph of Arimathea is
:04:03. > :04:06.said to have buried a cup here. The one Jesus used at the Last Supper.
:04:06. > :04:09.I've heard the water that flows here is sometimes called the Blood
:04:09. > :04:15.Spring and its high iron content is said to have strength-boosting
:04:15. > :04:19.properties. So Tor, as you can see, I'm a very weak man. I think some
:04:19. > :04:26.iron-fueled water is what I need. I'm going to give it a go. I'll see
:04:26. > :04:32.you a bit later. And showing me around the Chalice Well is manager,
:04:32. > :04:37.Natasha Wardle. So Natasha, thank you so much for showing me around
:04:37. > :04:40.Chalice Well. It's such a beautiful place. Can you tell me a bit about
:04:40. > :04:43.what we're seeing, what surrounds us here? Well, the heart of Chalice
:04:43. > :04:47.Well is an ancient holy well, and we're at the foot of Glastonbury
:04:47. > :04:49.Tor. We call this the vesica pool, because you've got these two
:04:49. > :04:54.circles, which interlock with each other, and that's a symbol you'll
:04:54. > :04:57.see repeated throughout the gardens. Flowing through the gardens you'll
:04:57. > :05:01.see the water, this is flowing from the well itself, it has a very red
:05:01. > :05:07.colour because it's very rich in iron. And if you'd like to have a
:05:07. > :05:12.taste of it. Am I going to enjoy this, does it have a nice taste?
:05:12. > :05:22.I'm trying to judge your face! Have you tried it? I drink it a lot.
:05:22. > :05:29.
:05:29. > :05:39.Look at the colour. Have a taste. You can really taste the iron. It's
:05:39. > :05:44.
:05:44. > :05:47.like sucking on a coin. It's interesting. It is pleasant. In the
:05:47. > :05:50.1700s, a spa was built at the Chalice Well for visitors wishing
:05:50. > :05:56.to bathe in its healing waters'. One summer, it's reported that
:05:56. > :06:00.10,000 people came to Glastonbury. We're entering where the water
:06:00. > :06:08.springs up, so shall we go to the well? Yes, this is the well head,
:06:08. > :06:12.and this is really the heart of the gardens, this is where people come.
:06:12. > :06:18.You can see the natural stone seating around here. What an
:06:18. > :06:21.amazing design this is. Yes, this was made by an armaments factory,
:06:21. > :06:25.and they had been making weapons for the Second World War. But this
:06:25. > :06:31.was the first thing they made with the iron, following the war. So,
:06:31. > :06:33.it's become imbued as a symbol of peace. The celebration of peace has
:06:33. > :06:40.continued at the well, thanks to local visionary and writer Wellesly
:06:40. > :06:43.Tudor Pole. He founded the BBC's silent minute during WWII, which is
:06:43. > :06:48.still recognized today on remembrance Sunday. He also set up
:06:48. > :06:52.the Chalice Well Trust. It encourages guests to regularly take
:06:52. > :06:56.part in a healing minute'. Every day at 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock, we
:06:56. > :06:59.ring a bell for a minute's silence, and anyone who is in the garden, or
:06:59. > :07:09.anybody who hears that, will just stop for remembrance, and just be
:07:09. > :07:10.
:07:10. > :07:15.still. As well as daily silences, moments of reflection are also key
:07:15. > :07:25.during ceremonies that take place at the Chalice Well. Today, I'm
:07:25. > :07:25.
:07:25. > :07:30.taking part in the Spring Equinox celebrations. I actually found that
:07:30. > :07:34.to be very rewarding. I'm not the kind of person who's 'at one' with
:07:34. > :07:37.mother earth or anything like that. But simply to share a moment of
:07:37. > :07:41.calm with people from all different walks of life, all drawn to this
:07:41. > :07:45.one place because they see it as being special. And I suppose if
:07:45. > :07:48.what I draw from it is a moment of peace, then that has to have value.
:07:48. > :07:51.In other news though, at the beginning I was told to centre
:07:51. > :07:54.myself, to find my balance, failed to do that, and I've got quite bad
:07:54. > :08:02.cramp. It is my fault though I suppose. But I can heartily
:08:02. > :08:05.recommend that. Come to Glastonbury and do that. The ancient symbol on
:08:05. > :08:08.the lid of the Chalice Well is thought to have formed the design
:08:08. > :08:13.for the key building at Glastonbury Abbey. And it's there that we
:08:13. > :08:20.venture next. Glastonbury Abbey. Thought to be the location of the
:08:20. > :08:25.first church in Britain. St Joseph is said to have brought
:08:25. > :08:29.Christianity to Britain, and built a church right here. Another
:08:29. > :08:35.relative of Jesus, St John, is said to have taken the same message to
:08:35. > :08:37.the Holy Island of Patmos, in Greece. With one saint landing in
:08:37. > :08:45.Glastonbury, and the other arriving in Patmos, Glastonbury resident Zoe
:08:45. > :08:48.D'Ay decided the link between the two places should be recognized.
:08:48. > :08:51.circumstance, I found myself on the island of Patmos, in the Cave of
:08:51. > :08:56.the Apocalypse, where St John had his revelation and wrote the last
:08:56. > :09:00.book of the new testament, the Book of Revelation. I was given the
:09:00. > :09:05.distinct impression. I know this is Glastonbury, but I'm not going to
:09:05. > :09:08.say I heard a voice! I was given the distinct impression that I
:09:08. > :09:12.should twin the Holy island of Patmos with Glastonbury, which as
:09:12. > :09:21.you know, was the sacred isle of Avalon. The abbot gave me his
:09:21. > :09:29.blessing, and then it just happened. In 2009, in September, the Greek
:09:29. > :09:33.Patmos delegation came here. Joseph of Arimathea's old' church has
:09:33. > :09:37.attracted visitors since it was built around AD63. A religious
:09:37. > :09:40.community grew up around the wattle-and-daub building. But in
:09:40. > :09:47.the 12th century, it burnt down and a more permanent structure took its
:09:47. > :09:51.place. The abbey's archeologist John Allen is showing me around.
:09:51. > :09:54.What would this part of the building have been? Well, this is
:09:54. > :09:57.St Mary's Chapel, and this was put up immediately after the fire, so
:09:57. > :10:07.we're looking at late Norman architecture, put up between 1184
:10:07. > :10:17.
:10:17. > :10:23.and it's said, 1186. -- John Allan. So, very closely dated. It really
:10:23. > :10:25.is a beautiful example of late norman architecture. If we look up,
:10:25. > :10:30.can you see how beautifully the carvings. It actually comes away
:10:30. > :10:34.from the wall. They're actually clinging on by some small strands
:10:34. > :10:36.of masonry. It was expected of people that they would build a
:10:36. > :10:41.church and the surrounding buildings in the grandest manner
:10:41. > :10:47.that they could afford. So these carvings are the flat screen TVs of
:10:47. > :10:50.their day, as it were. By the 14th century, the Abbey was the second
:10:50. > :10:55.wealthiest in Britain, after Westminster. The Abbot of
:10:55. > :11:04.Glastonbury lived in splendour. main surviving example of this
:11:04. > :11:12.power and wealth is to be found here. The Abbot's kitchen. Hello.
:11:12. > :11:22.Good afternoon. Good day, Sir. was hoping you might be able to
:11:22. > :11:23.
:11:23. > :11:33.show me how this works, lend a hand. You do not have to pay me. Well you
:11:33. > :11:43.
:11:43. > :11:47.have to put this on. You do not I used to work in a bakery. So you
:11:47. > :11:52.will know that when you make this year to make sure that you get lots
:11:52. > :11:57.a bit air into it. We're going to put this in the oven, a close their
:11:57. > :12:02.eyes and say a prayer. Right. The kitchen was once attached to
:12:02. > :12:12.the Abbot Hall where the very best that would be taken for at the
:12:12. > :12:16.
:12:16. > :12:26.abbot and his guests to enjoy. You are not to laugh. I would not.
:12:26. > :12:28.
:12:28. > :12:37.THEY prayed. SHE SINGS. You nearly laughed there. I would
:12:37. > :12:43.not. Look at that! It did not have seen
:12:43. > :12:48.Senate when we first put it then. The power of prayer sir. But it
:12:48. > :12:54.seems to have been made at the ago. Talking about animals, we are
:12:54. > :13:01.infested with mice here. The other thing is, sir, we are in the
:13:01. > :13:08.process of making Judah wafers for the at that. We have just kicked it
:13:08. > :13:17.and now you have dropped it in there. This is no laughing matter.
:13:17. > :13:25.That is hotter than the Sun. If I put that down there. Yes, sir.
:13:25. > :13:31.Shall I? Is it good? It is quite dry. You would pick fruit with it.
:13:32. > :13:41.We g e is if you're on a diet? If he was off on holiday? Do I get the
:13:42. > :13:43.
:13:43. > :13:48.job? Know. Put it in the net in. believe my hat there.
:13:48. > :13:55.I thought my trip back to the 1500s was over but somebody else is
:13:55. > :14:00.waiting for me. I felt like a medieval Bachman.
:14:00. > :14:04.what? Nothing. This programme has come to tell me
:14:04. > :14:10.how the abbey was destroyed when King Henry VIII became at their
:14:10. > :14:13.head of the Church of England. can see you have read their
:14:13. > :14:23.boundary walls are, I do not go through the walls it will give you
:14:23. > :14:26.a headache. Go through the doors here. Shall I? Thank you. N15 39
:14:27. > :14:32.Glastonbury Abbey is one of the last abbeys along with Reading to
:14:32. > :14:40.be dissolved by be King's men. The abbot was executed, his head
:14:40. > :14:45.place on a spike outside the abbey. They took the stone from its
:14:45. > :14:49.buildings and the materials from the roof. When the Abbey is
:14:49. > :14:58.dissolved how did the local people survive? The people work for the
:14:58. > :15:03.Abbey. So society loses its heart? Yes, everything is gone. If it is
:15:03. > :15:10.all changing their new no longer need to wear your pilgrims close.
:15:10. > :15:13.My -- my bodice is loose so I am a loose woman. She might leasing be
:15:13. > :15:19.straight across I would not be looking for a husband for I would
:15:19. > :15:28.be straight laced. So I am looking for a gentleman. You're looking for
:15:28. > :15:34.at? I am looking for a man. I just have to...
:15:34. > :15:38.Probably time to move on. But you have to feel for her. An Abbey was
:15:38. > :15:43.destroyed by it King Henry VIII. Henry was said to believe that he
:15:43. > :15:49.was at descendent that of King Arthur. Historical records say that
:15:49. > :15:55.the monks found Arthur's grave at the Abbey in the 1100s. But who was
:15:55. > :15:59.he? Did he ever exist? One man thinks so.
:15:59. > :16:07.At that time he would have been up there it chief military leader
:16:07. > :16:13.because of the Saxons and the Barbarians. In 450 AD or
:16:13. > :16:18.thereabouts. This man is one of the foremost
:16:18. > :16:24.Arthurian historians in the UK. After the monks dug up the bones of
:16:24. > :16:29.Arthur, the tick them and enshrined them. The pick them in this marbled
:16:29. > :16:35.cold during at royal visit in the 13th century and said that the
:16:35. > :16:41.dissolution of the monasteries when everything was vandalised was the
:16:41. > :16:51.reason. But why we at King Henry VIII to strike they ate relics of
:16:51. > :17:04.
:17:04. > :17:09.his ancestor? Did -- did they Standing majestically on their
:17:09. > :17:15.skyline Glastonbury Tor is one of Great Britain's iconic landmarks.
:17:15. > :17:19.It is also the site of their it brittle death of Richard Whiting,
:17:19. > :17:25.Glastonbury's last abbot. At more than 500 ft. It is quite acclaim to
:17:25. > :17:30.reach its summit. I am here to meet the town councillor John cousins
:17:30. > :17:33.who has written extensively about Richard Whiting.
:17:33. > :17:40.In in mind that my mum is watching, something pretty horrific happened
:17:40. > :17:44.here. Tell me about that. We are a weird the last about Richard
:17:44. > :17:50.Whiting was hung, drawn and quartered. Drawing means that they
:17:50. > :17:55.cut your belly open and picture intestines on your chest. Then they
:17:55. > :18:00.would have hacked him into four finally chopping of his head. It
:18:00. > :18:03.was a very long and drawn-out gruesome death. Many believe that
:18:03. > :18:07.Richard Whiting was killed for it refusing to acknowledge King Henry
:18:07. > :18:12.VIII as the head of the Church. But others think that he did sign
:18:12. > :18:16.allegiance with the king. Begging the question, why was he executed?
:18:16. > :18:21.I think that there is something about Glastonbury Abbey that was
:18:21. > :18:26.trying to be concealed. The bones disappear. The disappear at the
:18:26. > :18:31.time of the destruction of the abbey and no one knows what happens.
:18:31. > :18:34.When I was eight my pet rabbit went to a farm and then a year later I
:18:34. > :18:39.find rabbit he bones in the garden. My mum denies all knowledge but
:18:39. > :18:48.would not let me visit the rabbit at the farm. With bones you are
:18:48. > :18:52.never quite sure. First of all was it my rabbit? Yes. Who do you think
:18:52. > :18:59.these bones from Glastonbury might have been in the abbey. Some people
:18:59. > :19:03.think it might be Joseph of Arimathea who came here in eight
:19:03. > :19:07.the time of the burial. I like the mystery of it. There are so many
:19:07. > :19:12.things you that do not make sense. Our modern world is all about
:19:12. > :19:17.reason and rational thinking. We want to come up with answers.
:19:17. > :19:23.Glastonbury does not work like that. It seems to me that Glastonbury and
:19:23. > :19:29.its tour at hold many secrets and mysteries some of which we might
:19:29. > :19:33.never understand. -- Tor. When people talk about Glastonbury and
:19:33. > :19:37.Avalon there are talking about the landscape, but Tor and then they're
:19:37. > :19:47.talking about the town. People come to visit the Tor more than anything
:19:47. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:55.else. But. -- the building including St Michael's is one of
:19:55. > :19:58.many that stretches across Britain. This is no accident much like
:19:58. > :20:03.another distinguishing characteristic of their Tor. I
:20:03. > :20:09.think I know you well enough to do this now. It is like you back and
:20:09. > :20:15.repealed best. How does this relate to that? This is the labyrinth that
:20:15. > :20:19.is very famous on Glastonbury Tor. Many thousands of years ago there
:20:19. > :20:28.let his work cut into this natural held but they actually cut it in
:20:28. > :20:36.the shape of this labyrinth. As in his initiation path for druids. The
:20:36. > :20:41.Druids used to what end at a ceremony through it. Once you get
:20:41. > :20:46.inside the labyrinth, the top of the hell was the centre of the
:20:46. > :20:51.labyrinth, you'd have this feeling that you were at being taken up
:20:51. > :20:56.into the heavens or down into the underworld because the Tor is also
:20:57. > :21:01.connected to the underworld. The king of the fees lives underneath
:21:01. > :21:06.the Tor. So they would travel to these different dimensions as they
:21:06. > :21:10.walked into the centre of the labyrinth. So it has long been at
:21:10. > :21:19.place of spiritual significance? Very much so. It is hard to ignore
:21:19. > :21:23.it when you see it. I just feel my heart expand when I see it.
:21:23. > :21:28.Paganism in Glastonbury goes back way before it that arrival of
:21:28. > :21:33.Christianity in Britain. One of the face from that time centres around
:21:33. > :21:38.the honouring of a goddess. This is still alive in the town today.
:21:38. > :21:46.Can I ask about the central tenants of this? What day-to-day it means
:21:46. > :21:50.to be goddess? It is about taking responsibility for the self. We do
:21:50. > :21:55.not have a structure within the religion so our main laws as they
:21:55. > :22:00.are where any is that no harm to others and no hands to the self.
:22:00. > :22:07.That should cover at all. It is how you live your life 24 - seven and
:22:07. > :22:13.are you interact with other people and all living things. This woman
:22:13. > :22:17.is a Peter it -- priestess at the Goddess Temple in Glastonbury.
:22:17. > :22:23.is the first temple in northern Europe for a 1,500 years and it is
:22:23. > :22:27.opened as an official registered place of worship. But it is here
:22:27. > :22:34.for the Divine feminine. There are many temples in ruins throughout
:22:34. > :22:40.the world that are in ruins for the Divine feminine. Are you finding
:22:40. > :22:44.more people being drawn across? have without any exaggeration of
:22:44. > :22:51.thousands of people who come here during the summer. Where would be
:22:51. > :22:55.drawn from? From all over the world. Having experienced the Spring
:22:55. > :23:05.Equinox at the Chalice Well and keen to take part in the Goddess
:23:05. > :23:25.
:23:25. > :23:28.SHOUTING, DRUMMING. The ad is starting to wake up with
:23:29. > :23:38.all the beautiful blossoms and daffodils and the plants are
:23:39. > :23:40.
:23:40. > :23:43.certain to grow. We're feeling much more alive, aren't we? Yes!
:23:43. > :23:49.Do you feel that paganism is often misunderstood and that there is a
:23:49. > :23:53.fear and lack of understanding around it? I totally agree. People
:23:53. > :23:59.fear what they do not understand. Years ago, hundreds of years ago,
:23:59. > :24:05.we thought the world was flat. Education today, we're far more
:24:05. > :24:09.educated and understand how things work. Consequently, people are now
:24:09. > :24:12.looking for it things in a more open manner. They're looking for a
:24:12. > :24:20.spirituality that is not demanding of them are telling them what they
:24:20. > :24:26.should or should not do. Another event which has one foot in
:24:26. > :24:33.ancient paganism is the world these Miss Glastonbury Festival. --
:24:33. > :24:37.famous. It is ideal. It is euphoric down here at and away from their
:24:37. > :24:47.awful realities of life. Is busy with all the mystique surrounding
:24:47. > :24:52.this area. It has been going for more than 40
:24:52. > :25:02.years. The most famous artists get to perform on the main Pyramid
:25:02. > :25:02.
:25:02. > :25:09.Stage. It is in this position it because of John Mitchell who
:25:09. > :25:14.specialised in sacred geometry and earth mysteries. Michael Eavis told
:25:14. > :25:18.me how he's friend found the correct place where the stage.
:25:18. > :25:23.came here with the divine out to choose a site for bed and a mad. It
:25:23. > :25:30.had to be near the spring. The state has to be here. So that stage
:25:30. > :25:34.there was there because of John Mitchell's divining sticks.
:25:34. > :25:40.haven't used that for the other stages? Now only the main Pyramid
:25:40. > :25:48.Stage. Please do twisted round about so that we got the best
:25:48. > :25:58.audience. I get 100,000 people out there. All facing the main stage.
:25:58. > :26:03.If I wait here for two years I will peak at the front. That is right.
:26:03. > :26:08.This is one of the down years, what does that mean for you? IMI dairy
:26:08. > :26:18.farmer so it is a key get the cows and sheep out. They cannot go and
:26:18. > :26:21.
:26:21. > :26:31.greys. It is a year off. It is that... Fallow. Yes! You get the
:26:31. > :26:36.
:26:36. > :26:42.job! His a fallow. It is truly a fallow year. But the fallow year is
:26:42. > :26:49.such a beautiful idea. It is so calm and peaceful. It is good for
:26:49. > :26:54.everyone, it is good for the soil because it gets so compacted.
:26:54. > :26:59.Might end in Glastonbury is coming to an end. Just a bumpy ride in a
:26:59. > :27:03.car to go. Nicol has but actually said it that
:27:03. > :27:12.I might be headlining next year it, so it was in his eyes, you could
:27:12. > :27:17.tell. Thanks to the festival, Glastonbury is known worldwide. But
:27:17. > :27:21.it has always drawn visitors from across the globe no matter what
:27:21. > :27:27.obstacles have fallen in its path. It is a phoenix out of the Ashes.
:27:27. > :27:31.That is the story of Glastonbury. There was a fire in the abbey and
:27:31. > :27:36.then there is as if you use it to the abbey was destroyed and then it
:27:36. > :27:41.came alive again. One of the last months is supposed to have given
:27:41. > :27:47.proper say that Glastonbury would rise again. And in modern times it
:27:47. > :27:52.has risen again. It has an extraordinary power of its --
:27:52. > :27:57.attraction. Who knows what we might seem Glastonbury next, I cannot
:27:57. > :28:01.possibly imagine. That is the end of my time here in
:28:01. > :28:05.Glastonbury. A more thought for a man many would ask what I had
:28:05. > :28:09.learned. I learnt that I would not cut it in a medieval kitchen, that
:28:09. > :28:13.may cleavers has incredibly knobbly knees and that Glastonbury is the
:28:13. > :28:18.play's rich with history. It is also a place that draws people in
:28:18. > :28:23.and divides them in each will -- equal measure. Spiritually I have