Aspects of Avalon

  Bride's Well isn't where the stone is, and it was never a particularly significant well in recent times, after the monks of Glastonbury Abbey diverted the River Brue. The Ordnance Survey never listed it. However, from the topology of the land and where the stone originally stood you can see a faint depression. After a fairly wet start to 2023 I looked where the stone used to be, and water does collect there. The erstwhile location of Bride's Well, April 2023 This was the most likely original position of the commemorative stone before it got co-opted by Wellesley Tudor Pole to indicate the place where the Blue Bowl was found in the early years of the 20th century. It was moved a little bit again when the Brue embankments were raised mid-20th century. in the distance you can see the slight raise in the ground that John Goodchild fancifully termed the salmon at Beckery, it extended further than he showed it and may have been the best fording point for pilgrims coming to Be...

 The first of February is the festival of Imbolc, the start of Spring and associated with St Brigid from Ireland, and the Goddess Bride is some pagan traditions. It seems like the earth is coming back to life, snowdrops appear, and some birds like the song thrush have started singing. The group gathers at the White Well in Wellhouse Lane Since its formation in November 1995 the Friends of Bride's Mound have had an annual pilgrimage on Imbolc from the White Well/Chalice Well to Bride's Mound. The tradition is even older, Serena told us a group have been making making the pilgrimage since the 1980s, for 37 years, and she has led the pilgrimage for most of that time. Gathering at the Market Cross  The pilgrimage is for two and a half miles, along Chilkwell Street and the back of the Abbey, down Silver Street with a pause at the Market Cross where a few people joined, down Benedict Street and on via Porchestall Drove to Cradle Bridge.  on the embankment of the Brue, near Cra...

How accurate is the position St Bride’s Well Stone? The historic site of Bride’s Hill holds the site and footings of the early Brigid Chapel and burial site, but the FoBM land holds a site featured in more recent Glastonbury mythology. This was where the Blue Bowl was hidden in 1898, sometimes said to be Bride’s Well. The tale of the Blue Bowl links Bride’s Hill, Chalice Well, and some luminaries of the early-twentieth century revival of mystical Glastonbury. Patrick Benham, erstwhile editor of the 1970s alternative magazine Torc called this group The Avalonians, and the story of the Blue Bowl is told well in his book 1 of the same name. The whereabouts of this feature is of interest to some modern pilgrims, and there’s some doubt about its location due to 20th century hydrological work. I have set out to examine this, using Dr John Goodchild’s sketch map, historical mapping and post-war aerial photography. We now have the privilege of some quite large scale historical mapping ava...

  It was a cold and snowy start to Imbolc, when around twenty hardy souls joined the pilgrimage from the Chalice Well to Bride's Mound. Sleet at Chilkwell Street gathering at the Market Square Conditions improved by the time we got to the Market Square, where Serena paused to tell us more about the history of the walk, before moving on along Porchestall Drove, to enter Beckery from the north. stone marking the erstwhile site of Bride's Well Followed by a brisk walk to Bride's Mound itself, the location of the old stone chapel though now only the underground foundations remain, covered by the grass. Imbolc ceremony on the Mound The ceremony was a welcome opportunity to enjoy some warming primrose country wine brought by Serena who initiated the bottle with a libation to Bride

  This seat usually looks over a field. The you turn round and see that the river is well higher than the seat at the moment... That's why the embankments are there. The monks did reroute this somewhat, in mediaeval times so the route isn't natural