The Saxon Churches (c.700 – c.1100)

The earliest historical evidence for the abbey dates from the last three decades of the 7th century, with charters granted by the West Saxon kings Cenwealh (641–72), Centwine (676–85) and Ine (688–726).

Excavations at Glastonbury in the 1920s revealed three phases of stone churches associated with the Saxon monastery. The earliest church dates to around AD 700, based on radiocarbon dates of organic material from the glass-working furnaces used to make coloured glass windows.

See the animated visualization below to see how the church at Glastonbury developed between c.700 AD and c.1100 AD, and visit the Anglo-Saxon churches page within this section for more detailed visualizations.