It is said that 'Merlin' (See Merlin) once lived here and spoke with a farmer who he convinced to give him a horse for a purse of gold pieces. Legend has it that Merlin opened some magical gates on the side of the rock to the sound of thunder, telling the farmer that here sleeps Arthur with his Knights and their horses, of which they were one short, so that they might return again when England needed them. The farmer took the gold and ran from the gates terrified. The gates have never been seen since.

Once he arrived in the area it is believed that Joseph of Arimathea built a church out of wattle and daub which stood next to or on the site of the what is now called the 'Lady Chapel' in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. In AD1184 a fire destroyed the original church which was described by some as 'holiest earth in all of England' and was often even then a place that pilgrims travelled to.

This church was still standing when the Saxons entered into Somerset during the seventh-century and was being used by Celtic monks. It is believed that it officially became a Benedictine monastery in AD673. The Abbey was rebuilt by King Ine, of Wessex (AD688) during AD720, ten years after his war with the Britons of Cornwall.

It is believed by some that Joseph of Arimathea actually brought the 'boy Jesus' to Glastonbury and then returned here later to spread the word of Christianity after the death of Jesus, starting in Glastonbury and bringing with him the sacred Chalice used and the 'Last Supper' or the Chalice holding His blood or sweat. Other legends tell that Joseph brought 'Mary' (the Holy mother of Jesus) with him on this return visit.

As far as it is known, the Celtic Benedictine monks did not tell the Saxons who had originally built the church. Maybe they did not know or thought it best not to tell. It has been assumed by some that maybe the Abbey had always had some form of religious significance, the connection between the old church site. The legend of Joseph of Arimathea and that of Jesus visiting England may be based upon the knowledge that the Saxons had a legend that told of the church 'not built of man but prepared by God himself'.

In AD1184, the Abbey was in the care of 'Peter de Marcy' when fire destroyed the abbey's 'Great Church' and the 'Old Church', which had stood adjacent to it. The rebuilding of the abbey was heavily supported by King Henry II, who politically had a keen interest in Glastonbury (See Arthur). His death in AD1189 meant that the abbey lost its financial support and neither of his sons, John or Richard (King Richard I, Coeur-de-Lion, The Lionheart), were interested in continuing it.

In AD1409, Bishop Robert Hallum of Salisbury claimed England to be a Christian nation with equal status to Italy, France and Germany, on the basis of apostolic conversion by Joseph. Although the date of the conversion was moved backwards to just after Christ's Passion, rather than AD63, this was to offset France's claim to conversion by Mary Magdalene and St. Denis (a disciple of Paul). A similar claim was later made and successful at the Council of Constance in AD1417. The manipulation of historical fact for the benefit of prestige and/or political power, appears throughout history.

It could be argued that like other ritualistic sites the location may have been a site on which an act of God may have taken place i.e. struck by a bolt of lighting or a comet and so flattening the area. A building or monument being then built to mark the spot.

All that can be said is that the mysteries and connections with the church of Arthurian legend and the mystical leylines/earth energy lines found here at Glastonbury will continue to attract thousands of pilgrims well into the new millennium. It is a place that does have an atmosphere that is totally unique, interwoven with the Christian heritage of the pilgrims to the so called New Age pilgrims that travel to this town from all over the world.

The word 'tor' means a hill or rocky peak particularly associated with Devon & Cornwall (UK), and is also believed to be based on the Gaelic word 'tor' meaning bulging hill.

This Tor is located just outside Glastonbury Town and is constructed on top of grassed-terraced volcanic rock, with a height of approximately 159 Metres (522 ft ). On the top stands a tower, which is the remains of a church. Originally monks, some say a warlord, built a church or fortification there in the Middle Ages but this was destroyed by an earthquake/landslide on 11 September AD1275. The archaeologist Philip Raht strongly believes that it was originally a monastic settlement, a conclusion he came to after three seasons excavating the top area of the Tor. The tower that stands there now was built as a replacement in the AD1360's and dedicated to St. Michael (Soldier of God and victor of Paganism).

In the recent 1960's excavations suggested that a sixth-century fortress or at least a stronghold stood on the site of the Tor, which for some supports another legend connected with the Tor, that it was the location of the stronghold belonging to 'Melwas' (See Melwas), who is credited in one of the many Arthurian legends as the man who abducted 'Guinevere' (See Guinvere).

The Tor has many legends associated with it, and include it being a strong hold of 'King Arthur', guarding the entrance to the Underworld known as 'Annwn'. Another legend tells of the Tor being the home of 'Gwynn ap Nudd', (See Gwynn ap Nudd). In later folk legends he has been referred to as the 'The Faery King' along with another legend when 'Avallach' was deemed to be the Lord of the Underworld. During the twelfth-century many folk tales were written down for the first time and told about the top of the Tor being a place of faery visions and magic.

There have over the centuries been offered many theories that the hill itself is/was hollow and that this in turn has led to the legends that it was the entrance to the underworld or the place of the 'Sleeping Lord' (See Sleeping Lord). Some scholars have even suggested that St. Collen himself had his hermitage on the slopes of the Tor by a spring. At the base of the Tor is what is known as the 'Chalice Well' (See Chalice Well), where according to legend Joseph of Arimathea threw the Chalice (See Grail). It is argued by Messrs. Miller & Broadhurst (AD1989) that the valley between the Tor and 'Chalice Hill' had two springs 'Blood Spring' and 'White Spring' which may have joined in the area now known as 'Chalice Well Gardens'. Chambers that lie towards the back of the spring have been tentatively explored by cavers who have found evidence to indicate that this may have in fact been another entrance point to the Tor ,which lends supports to the legends that the Tor hill itself is/was hollow. Extensive caving has not been undertaken to date as many of the chambers have over the years collapsed.

'Dion Fortune' (See Dion Fortune) a leading occultist also lived at the base of the Tor and believed it to be place of great 'Celtic Otherworld' (See Otherworld) connections.

On 'Weary-All Hill' also located near the Tor, legend has it that it was here Joseph of Arimathea thrust his staff into the ground where upon it took root and grew into the 'Holy Thorn' tree which only blossomed at Christmas. This type of tree is known as 'Crataegus oxyacantha'. Cuttings from this thorn tree still grow in and around the Glastonbury area and flower at Christmas and Easter, although the original was cut down during Cromwell's reign. Christmas blossom is cut from a holy thorn that stands in the grounds of St. Johns Church and sent to the Queen to be placed on the breakfast table at Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, (a custom believed to date back to Queen Anne).