Glastonbury

World of Darkness: 1900 -- London - Pax Britannica

1 Introduction
2 Appearance
- 2.1 Daytime
- 2.2 Nighttime
3 City Device
4 Climate
5 Demonym
6 Economy of Glastonbury
7 Geography
- 7.1 Districts
8 History of Glastonbury
9 Population
10 Attractions
11 Cemeteries
12 City Government
- 12.1 Glastonbury Town Council
  - 12.1.1 Mayor
    - 12.1.1.1 Town Council
- 12.2 Law Enforcement
  - 12.2.1 Leadership
    - 12.2.1.1 Street Constables
  - 12.2.2 The Judiciary
13 Communications
- 13.1 Post
- 13.2 Telegraph
14 Crime
- 14.1 Prostitution
15 Citizens
- 15.1 Clubs & Fraternities
  - 15.1.1 Missing Persons
16 Current Events
17 Fortifications
18 Galleries
19 Holy Ground
20 Hospitals
21 Hotels & Hostels
22 Landmarks
23 Law Enforcement
24 Monuments
25 Museums
26 Newspapers
27 Parks
28 Pubs and Alehouses
- 28.1 Taverns
29 Residences
30 Restaurants
31 Ruins
32 Schools
33 Shopping
34 Theaters
35 Transportation
- 35.1 Automobiles
- 35.2 Coach Service
- 35.3 Flat Boats
- 35.4 Train Service
36 Visitors
37 Supernaturals
- 37.1 Vampires
  - 37.1.1 Visiting Undead
- 37.2 Widows Three
- 37.3 Character Creation
38 Stories
39 Websites

Introduction

"In Glastonbury, history, myth and legend combine in such a way that most visitors cannot fail to feel the powerful atmosphere of the town. For not only is Glastonbury the cradle of Christianity in England but is also reputed to be the burial place of King Arthur. Glastonbury is a town steeped in myths and legends. Theories about the founding of the great abbey and connections to the Arthurian legends and the land of Avalon are too numerous to count. The mysterious and sacred aspects of Glastonbury attract visitors and pilgrims from all over the world who seek forgotten lands and wish to drink from sacred springs."

Glastonbury is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 4,213 in the 1900 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, which is far smaller than Glastonbury. It is 139 miles from Glastonbury to London.

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue and Sharpham Park approximately 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, that dates back to the Bronze Age. Centwine was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey, which dominated the town for the next 700 years. One of the most important abbeys in England, it was the site of Edmund Ironside's coronation as King of England in 1016. Many of the oldest surviving buildings in the town, including the Tribunal, George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn and the Somerset Rural Life Museum, which is based at the site of a 14th-century abbey manor barn, often referred to as a tithe barn, are associated with the abbey. The Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century.

The town became a center for commerce, which led to the construction of the market cross, Glastonbury Canal and the Glastonbury and Street railway station, the largest station on the original Somerset and Dorset Railway. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust and nearby is the Ham Wall National Nature Reserve.

Glastonbury has been described as having a New Age community, and possibly being where New Age beliefs originated at the turn of the twentieth century. It is notable for myths and legends often related to Glastonbury Tor, concerning Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and King Arthur. Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury and stuck his staff into the ground, when it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn. The presence of a landscape zodiac around the town has been suggested but no evidence has been discovered. The Glastonbury Festival, held in the nearby village of Pilton, takes its name from the town.

Appearance

Daytime

Nighttime

City Device

Climate

Along with the rest of South West England, Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

Demonym

Economy of Glastonbury

Glastonbury has for centuries been a center for religious tourism and pilgrimage. Like a heart beat the events which have built up the religious mythology of Glastonbury have occurred on a three century cycle that only a few occult or religious scholars have noticed. This pattern is obscure before the advent of Christianity and the arrival of Saint Patrick. But Glastonbury Tor and the area that surrounds it was sacred to the Celtic tribes and a gathering place for druids before the Roman conquests of Britain.

The arrival of Saint Patrick (late 4th century to early 5th century) in the area led to the introduction of Christianity to the native Brythonic tribes of the area and it is believed that Patrick may have clashed with local pagans during his conversions. Older legends state that the druids of the area were slaughtered by the Roman Legions during the conquests of the 1st and 2nd centuries of the common era.

The historical beginning of religious pilgrimage and patronage began with the reign of King Centwine of Wessex (676–685) (the West Saxons) who became the very first patron of Glastonbury Abbey. Three hundred years later the fame of the Abbey as a holy site led Edmund Ironside (Edmund II who reigned from April to November of 1016 AD) to hold his coronation there in the Spring of 1016.

Glastonbury Abbey was held to have been established in 712 AD (the 8th century) and saw major expansion during the 10th century, but was devastated by fire in 1184, but subsequently rebuilt and by the 14th century was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England.

In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved and were lost during the Protestant Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

From the discovery of Arthur and Guinevere's grave site onward Glastonbury became a major site of Christian pilgrimage. The 12th century was particularly fruitful in establishing the legendary nature of Glastonbury as many of that century's greatest writers contributed to its deepening mythology. There is no question that the town was dependent on the Abbey and Arthurian legend for its financial success, but over time other financial factors came into play.

Other trades did contribute to the Medieval economy of the town, a Saxon-era canal connected the town to the River Brue and the growth of the wool trade enriched Glastonbury town until its decline in the 18th century. Thereafter the town slipped into a financial funk until 1825 when C & J Clark was founded in the nearby village of Street, the new company produced sheepskins, woolen slippers and, later, boots and shoes especially those of school age children.

During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism, the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the Somerset and Dorset Railway and the road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801.

At the turn of the 20th century the town center is thriving with countless small businesses the outskirts of the town contain a sheepskin and slipper factory site, owned by Morlands. The Morlands factory sits on a 31-acre (13 ha) site that lies in the south-western most corner of Glastonbury.

Geography

Glastonbury Map 1930

Districts

Beckery -- Little Ireland

History of Glastonbury

Population

-- Glastonbury Town (4,213) - 1900 census
-- Neighboring Village of Street (3,535) - 1900 census

Attractions

Cemeteries

Glastonbury Cemetery -- Established: 1854–55

City Government

Glastonbury Town Council

Glastonbury's town council is composed of fifteen men including the mayor. The councilors for the town art drawn from the more elderly, err successful, business men of Glastonbury town. The mayors office and the council's meeting chambers are located inside Glastonbury Town Hall in the heart of old Glastonbury.

Glastonbury Town Hall

Mayor

Warwick Anselm Scriven

Town Council

Douglas Blythe
Greyson Dickens
Jameson Sutton
Benedict Burton
Silver Norris
Lew Edison
Harding Hedley
Gregg Roderick
Henderson Fenwick
Crew Lewis
Elliott Marston
Joe Nicholls
Harland Addison
Cary Ware

Law Enforcement

The Glastonbury police force is ten officers strong, they look after four-thousand civilians and usually do so without great difficulty. Padan Grenville is the town's chief constable and a veteran of London's Metropolitan Police. The Chief Constable is supported by Art Owston a local copper with decades of experience policing the more rural locales of Somerset and an expert tracker. There art eight uniformed street constables broken into teams of two who work rotating eight hour shifts. This arrangement means there are three pairs of constables active in a day with one pair off for the day. Patrols that cover the old part of town do so on foot while those covering the outer edges of the town use horses to get about. The Glastonbury constabulary has been stable since Padan Genville took over in 1899 and his men are as solid and even-headed a group of officers as any in the county of Somerset.

Leadership

Paden Grenville -- Chief Constable
- Art Owston -- Sargent of Constables

Street Constables

- - Ned Dean & Rickey Lloyd
  - Wade Pemberton & Winton Barrett
  - Monte Hathaway & Sterling Jinks
  - Mortimer Crisp & Spencer Bonney

The Judiciary

Matthew Hoyt Maynard -- Parish Judge

Communications

Post

Telegraph

Crime

Crime in Glastonbury is largely petty in its nature: public intoxication, lewd behavior, assault and battery and petty theft make up thr majority of illegal activities likely encountered in Glastonbury and half of all those cases are perpetrated by outsiders visiting the town.

Fitzroy Place Gang --

Prostitution

Lilac House -- A Den of Iniquity

Citizens

Clubs & Fraternities

Missing Persons

- Father Bayley Winslow

- Harold Cory (7yrs old)

Current Events

Fortifications

Galleries

Holy Ground

Church of St John the Baptist (Glastonbury)

Hospitals

Hotels & Hostels

George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn

Raven's Rookery

St. Brigid's Hotel

Three Sisters Respite

Wanderer's Rest

Landmarks

Glastonbury Canal
Glastonbury Market Cross
Glastonbury Thorn
River Brue

Law Enforcement

Arthur Grady - street bobby

Monuments

Museums

The Tribunal -- Museum of Iron Age Artifacts

Newspapers

Somerset County Gazette (1836)
Mid Somerset Series (1851)
Western Daily Press (1858)

Parks

Pubs and Alehouses

Three innkeepers, including the tenant of the George, were licensed to sell wine in the town in 1555, and the Hart and the Pelican were named in the 1580s. Seven victuallers were in business in 1620, and in 1630 there were eight alehouses, the limit set by the magistrates in 1636. Among the inns which contributed to the guest beds for 91 and stabling for 45 in 1686 were the Ship, the Bell, the Oak or Royal Oak, the Pelican, and the White Hart in addition to the George and the Crown. In 1695 there were eleven inns, and those named at the beginning of the 18th century included in addition the Holly Bush and the Tavern. The parish vestry thought so many alehouses were 'so many nurseries of indolence and vice' and requested the magistrates to license eleven. Ten alehouses were approved in 1764, seventeen in 1768, and fourteen victuallers in 1786. There were again seventeen licensed houses in the parish in 1866, of which six were unnamed beer houses, and there were twenty-two in 1889 and 1891. In 1905 there were fourteen fully licensed houses, eight beer houses, and a licensed grocer, a license for every 174 people in the parish. As a consequence four licenses were refused, and among those houses closed was the Red Loin, which had occupied the former gatehouse to the abbey precinct.

Taverns

Residences

Restaurants

Ruins

Schools

In 1839 the two National schools between them had 128 pupils on weekdays and 84 on Sundays and there was an infants' school for 70 supported by a Mrs. Roach and school pence. There were two Independent Sunday schools for 179 children between them and a Wesleyan Sunday school for 50 children. There were also six private schools, three of them described as commercial. In 1847 the National school, named St. John's and St. Benedict's, had 80 boys attending on weekdays and Sundays, 47 girls on both and 70 on Sundays only, and 147 infants. There were then dame schools for 10 boys and 12 girls affiliated to the National Society. The Wesleyans and the Independents had Sunday schools in 1861.

The National school was largely rebuilt in 1864–5; the designs by (Sir) George Gilbert Scott in harmony with those of St. John's church were treated very freely by Frederick Merrick, the builder. A private infants' school was opened at Hill Head, from 1864 until 1877 receiving a grant from Levington's charity. In 1875–6 a new National school was built in Benedict Street. From c. 1884 it shared the charity endowments with St. John's school.

In 1901 there were five elementary schools in the town, including the Wesleyan day school; two years later the two public elementary schools, St. John's and St. Benedict's, came under a joint board of management which itself was under the control of a newly-formed borough sub-committee of the county education committee. In 1903 there were 412 children on the books at St. John's school with an average attendance of 328 children. At St. Benedict's there were 300 on the books and average attendance was 231. St. John's school had 178 boys and 72 infants in 1925.