Chronology

Roman Invasion of Britain

Traditional Building of The Old Church

Possible foundation of the first Christian community at Glastonbury by Joseph of Arimathea

Romans leave Britain

Probable Visit of St. Patrick

Coming of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes to Britain

Carbon date for the occupation levels on Glastonbury Tor

Supposed Death of King Arthur

Carbon date for the Vallum Monasterii

The Synod of Whitby

First stone church built by King Ine

Viking raids in Southwest

King Alfred burns the cakes at Athelney

Ine's church is lengthened by Dunstan who also builds the Cloisters

Dunstan is Abbot

King Edmund is buried in the Abbey

Dunstan is made Archbishop of Canterbury, his reforms culminate in the Regularis Concordia adopted at the Council of Winchester

King Edgar the Peaceable is buried in the Abbey

Dunstan dies and is buried in Canterbury Cathedral

Battle of Hastings

Stone church is demolished and replaced by a larger Norman church by Abbot Thurstin

Abbot Thurstin is dismissed after his soldiers kill monks by the High Altar

First Crusade to the Holy Land

Abbot Herlewin demolishes the Norman church and builds another on a grander scale

Abbot Herlewin

The Cloisters, Bell Tower, Chapter House, Refectory, Infirmary, Outer Gate, Brewery and Stables are built

Abbot Henry of Blois
William of Malmesbury completes his history of the Abbey, "De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie"

Martydom of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury

Great fire destroys the Abbey including the Old Church

The Lady Chapel is consecrated on the site of the Old Church

King Henry II puts his chancellor, Ralph Fitzstephen in charge of rebuilding the monastery

Work starts on building the East end of the Great Church

Third Crusade to the Holy Land led by King Richard I; Richard the Lionhearted

King Arthur and Guinevere's tombs found in the cemetery

Start of a 24 year feud between the Abbey and the Bishop of Bath and Wells

The Great Church is consecrated

King John signs the Magna Carta

The Choir of the Great Church is completed, the Galilee Chapel and West end of the Nave are built

Abbot John of Taunton
Visit to the Abbey by King Edward I and Queen Eleanor to attend reburial of King Arthur's bones in front of the High Altar

Lodgings for 8 secular priests are built to the North of the Lady Chapel

Abbot Adam of Sodbury

The start of the 100 Years War between England and France

The Choir of the Great Church is extended by two bays

Abbot Walter of Monington

The Black Death kills one third of the population of England

The Cloisters are rebuilt

Abbot John Chinnock
The Archbishop of Canterbury visits the Abbey and notes the dissolute life of the monks

Chaucer writes "The Canterbury Tales"
The Battle of Agincourt

The Abbot's Kitchen is built, as are the Bishop's Quarters and the wall around the Abbey precinct

Abbot Nicholas Frome

Accused of being a witch, Joan of Arc is burned at the stake

Abbot John Selwood rebuilds the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist and the Pilgrim Inn

The Wars of the Roses
Columbus discovers the West Indies

St. Patrick's Almshouses are built north of the Lady Chapel
St. Joseph's Chapel is created in the crypt of the Lady Chapel
Edgar Chapel and Loretto Chapel are built

Abbot Richard Beere
King Henry VII visits the Abbey

Martin Luther challenges the sale of indulgences, an act seen as the start of the Reformation

Abbot Richard Whiting
Abbot Whiting signs the Act of Supremacy

Act of Supremacy is passed
First Act of Supression is passed
The Second Act of Supression is passed

The Dissolution of Glastonbury Abbey

The Abbey buildings are ransacked and all valuables sold or removed to the King's treasury

Abbot Whiting is hung on Glastonbury Tor

A colony of weavers is established on the Abbey site

Consolidation and repair of the ruined Abbey begins

The Abbey ruins are purchased by the Bath and Wells Diocesan Trust