Church of St John the Baptist, Glastonbury
Encyclopedia
The Church of St John the Baptist in Glastonbury
, Somerset
, England dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The church is laid out in a cruciform
plan with an aisled nave
and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttress
ing, panelling and battlements. The interior of the church includes four 15th century tomb-chests, some 15th century stained glass
in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse
.
In the churchyard is a thorn tree grown from a cutting from the Glastonbury Thorn
. A blossom from this tree is sent to the Queen every christmas. At the end of term, the pupils of St John’s Infants School gather round the tree in St John’s parish churchyard on the High Street. They sing carols, including one specially written for the occasion, and the oldest pupil has the privilege of cutting the branch of the Glastonbury Thorn that is then taken to London and presented to Her Majesty The Queen.
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The church is laid out in a cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
plan with an aisled nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and a clerestorey of seven bays. The west tower has elaborate buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ing, panelling and battlements. The interior of the church includes four 15th century tomb-chests, some 15th century stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
in the chancel, medieval vestments, and a domestic cupboard of about 1500 which was once at Witham Charterhouse
Witham Charterhouse
Witham Charterhouse was the earliest of the ten medieval Carthusian houses in England.-History:It was established at Witham Friary, Somerset in 1178/1179 from a founding party led by a monk called Narbert from the Grande Chartreuse...
.
In the churchyard is a thorn tree grown from a cutting from the Glastonbury Thorn
Glastonbury Thorn
The Glastonbury Thorn is a form of Common Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna 'Biflora' , found in and around Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Unlike ordinary hawthorn trees, it flowers twice a year , the first time in winter and the second time in spring...
. A blossom from this tree is sent to the Queen every christmas. At the end of term, the pupils of St John’s Infants School gather round the tree in St John’s parish churchyard on the High Street. They sing carols, including one specially written for the occasion, and the oldest pupil has the privilege of cutting the branch of the Glastonbury Thorn that is then taken to London and presented to Her Majesty The Queen.