Glastonbury Abbey

The Abbey today, approached from Magdalene Street through the old gateway, consists largely of the Lady Chapel, the Great Church and the Abbot’s Kitchen. There is also a small, former alms-house chapel which is dedicated to St. Patrick.

The Lady Chapel is dedicated to Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury. It dates from 1186 and was the first building to be completed after the great fire 2 years earlier. It is unusual for a Lady Chapel to be built at the west end of a great church. The reason here is that this is the most sacred spot in the Abbey. In the crypt of the Lady Chapel is a chapel dedicated to St. Joseph of Arimathea.

Within the ruins of the Abbey Church, which dates from the 13 th century, the sites of the High Altar and King Arthur’s tomb remain.

Of all the monastic buildings the gem is the Abbot’s Kitchen, a perfect example of such a building, complete with vaulted domed roof. It was built early in the 14 th century to prepare food for the Abbot’s household and guests; of the conventional buildings little survives. The dormitory lay at right angles to the cloister linked to the south transept of the church by an upstairs passage. Behind was the reredorter and behind the southern limb of the cloister was the refectory or common dining hall.

Next to the entrance area is a small museum.

Tickets for the Abbey are for sale at the Abbey Gatehouse.