Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury Abbey
	Glastonbury Abbey church ruin seen from the east end of the apse
	Location within Somerset
Monastery information
Order	Benedictine
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	712
Disestablished	1539
People
Founder(s)	King Ine of Wessex
Important associated figures	Saint Dunstan, Henry of Blois, Henry de Sully, Savaric FitzGeldewin, Richard Whiting
Architecture
Status	Ruins
Site
Location	Glastonbury, Somerset
Country	England
Coordinates	51°8′44″N 2°42′52″W / 51.14556°N 2.71444°W
Scheduled monument
Official name	Glastonbury Abbey
Designated	9 October 1981
Reference no.	1021077
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Glastonbury Abbey
Type	Grade I
Designated	21 June 1950
Reference no.	1345447

Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.

The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It was destroyed by a major fire in 1184, but subsequently rebuilt and by the 14th century was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England. The abbey controlled large tracts of the surrounding land and was instrumental in major drainage projects on the Somerset Levels. The abbey was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII of England. The last abbot, Richard Whiting (Whyting), was hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor on Glastonbury Tor in 1539.

From at least the 12th century, the Glastonbury area has been associated with the legend of King Arthur, a connection promoted by medieval monks who asserted that Glastonbury was Avalon. Christian legends have claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century.