GLASTONBURY

GLASTONBURY, an ancient town in Somersetshire, 36 m. S. of Bristol, on the Brue; it is associated with many interesting legends and historical traditions that point to its existence in very early times; thus it was the Avalon of Arthurian legend, and the place where Joseph of Arimathea, when he brought the Holy Grail, is said to have founded the first Christian Church; ruins are still extant of the old abbey founded by Henry II., which itself succeeded the ancient abbey of St. Dunstan (946); there is trade in gloves, mats, rugs, &c.