Death of the Holy Thorn

The Holy Thorn at Glastonbury before it was vandalised by those who serve darkness.

Joseph of Arimathea came to Britain after the crucifixion two thousand years ago bearing the Holy Grail - the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. He visited Glastonbury and thrust his staff into Wearyall Hill, just below the Tor, planting a seed for the original thorn tree. Roundheads felled the tree during the English Civil War, when forces led by Oliver Cromwell waged a vicious battle against the Crown.

However, locals salvaged the roots of the original tree, hiding it in secret locations around Glastonbury.

It was then replanted on the hill in 1951. Other cuttings were also grown and placed around the town - including its famous Glastonbury Abbey.

Experts had verified that the tree - known as the Crategus Monogyna Bi Flora - originated from the Middle East.

A sprig of holy thorns was taken from the Thorn tree by Glastonbury's St Johns Church and sent to the Queen.

The 100-year-old tradition would normally see the thorns sit on Her Majesty's dinner table on Christmas Day

Avon and Somerset Police launched an investigation after locals found that vandals had hacked off the branches of the iconic tree. They were dumped next to the trunk which is protected by a metal cage.

Locals wept openly after the desecration had happened at the foot of the tree, on the town's Wearyall Hill opposite its world-famous Tor, as they struggled to contain their emotion.

Katherine Gorbing, curator of Glastonbury Abbey, said: "The mindless vandals who have hacked down this tree have struck at the heart of Christianity. It holds a very special significance all over the world and thousands follow in the footsteps of Joseph Arimathea, coming especially to see it. It is the most significant of all the trees planted here and can be linked back to the origins of Christianity. When I arrived at the Abbey this morning you could look over to the hill and see it was not there. It's a great shock to everyone in Glastonbury - the landscape of the town has changed overnight."

Glastonbury Mayor John Coles rushed to the tree site after he heard the news.

Mr Coles, 66, said: "I'm stood on Wearyall Hill looking at a sad, sad, sight. The tree has been chopped down - someone has taken a saw to it. Some of the main trunk is there but the branches have been sawn away. I am absolutely lost for words - I just do not know why people would want to do this. This tree was visited by thousands of people each year and is one of the most important Christian sites. It is known all over the world."

Deputy Mayor William Knight, 63, added: "This is absolutely mindless. We are all devastated."

The Holy Thorn was cut down and vandalised by those on the Left-hand Path as Christmas approached in 2010. The following Easter an attempt was made to burn what remained. Both attacks were viewed as an anti-Christian act by those investigating the outrage, and also by the wider public.

A third offence was committed ten months ago when Glastonbury's Holy Thorn was "removed by the landowner," according to the town council.

The historic tree of religious significance was "destroyed" last week, in what was thought to be an act of vandalism. Glastonbury Town Council said in a statement on 28 May 2019 that the tree on Wearyall Hill was intentionally removed by the owner of the land. The statement reads: 

"It has been brought to the attention of the town council that the Holy Thorn on Wearyall Hill was removed by the landowner and a Conservation Society member as it was considered by them to be dangerous."

The removal of the what was left of the Holy Thorn came just days after Glastonbury Town Council refused to support plans to build new homes at Wearyall Hill.

For two thousand years the sacred emblem had symbolised the arrival of Arimathean Joseph and Christianity to England. Its death sadly reflects the death of Christian England, and the almost complete vandalism of Christianity as embers of its remnant struggle to catch fire in a very bleak wind.

There is a full page photograph of the Glastonbury Thorn with the Tor in the background, taken soon after I became Bishop of Glastonbury, on page 33 of The Grail Church: Its Ancient Tradition and Renewed Flowering.