SomersetGLASTONBURYStJohnBaptist(jimlinwoodCC-BY-2.0)1

St John the Baptist

A very fine, tall tower helps this town church to hold its own among its more famous neighbours, Glastonbury Tor and the abbey ruins.

Glastonbury, Somerset

Opening times

Open daily: 10am to 12.30pm.
Summer: 10.30am to 4pm (tower open on public holidays).

Address

High Street
Glastonbury
Somerset
BA6 9DR

Ancient Christianity and King Arthur are in Glastonbury's blood: this church stands on a Saxon site, though the first church on record dates from 1175.

A 'new' church is recorded in 1428/29, and the 'new' tower (still the second tallest in Somerset) followed after the original one began to shed its pinnacles in the 1460s. The roof, with its clerestory and angel busts, is a little later.

Pieces of medieval glass from the original east window are reused to good effect in the chancel, and St George's Chapel has an oak screen made from 15th century wooden fragments.

Key features