Glastonbury Thorn
Encyclopedia
The Glastonbury Thorn is a form of Common Hawthorn
, Crataegus monogyna 'Biflora' (sometimes incorrectly called Crataegus oxyacantha
var. praecox), found in and around Glastonbury
, Somerset
, England. Unlike ordinary hawthorn trees, it flowers twice a year (hence the name "biflora"), the first time in winter and the second time in spring. The trees in the Glastonbury area have been propagated by grafting
since ancient times.
It is associated with legends about Joseph of Arimathea
and the arrival of Christianity in Britain, and has appeared in written texts since the medieval period. A flowering sprig is sent to the British Monarch every Christmas. The original tree has been propagated several times, with one tree growing at Glastonbury Abbey
and another in the churchyard of the Church of St John
. The "original" Glastonbury Thorn was cut down and burned as a relic of superstition during the English Civil War
, and one planted on Wearyall Hill in 1951 to replace it had its branches cut off in 2010.
visited Glastonbury with the Holy Grail
and thrust his staff into Wearyall Hill, which then grew into the original thorn tree. Early writers do not connect Joseph to the arrival of Christianity in Britain, and the first literary source to place him in Britain appeared in the ninth century. The historicity of Joseph's presence in Glastonbury remains controversial, but the thorn is first mentioned in an early sixteenth-century metrical Lyfe of Joseph of Arimathea. The anonymous author notes that the thorn was unusual in that it flowered twice in a year, once as normal on "old wood" in spring, and once on "new wood" (the current season's matured new growth) in the winter. This flowering of the Glastonbury Thorn in mild weather just past midwinter was accounted miraculous.
At the time of the adoption of the revised Gregorian calendar
in Britain in 1752, the Gentleman's Magazine reported that curious visitors went to see whether the Glastonbury Thorn kept to the Julian calendar
or the new one:
The original Glastonbury Thorn itself was cut down and burned as a relic of superstition by Cromwellian
troops (or 'Roundheads' by another source) during the English Civil War
.
, Bishop of Bath and Wells during James I
's reign, who sent a branch to Queen Anne
, King James I's consort. A spray of Holy Thorn from the Glastonbury Thorn tree was sent to the Sovereign
each Christmas by the Vicar and Mayor of Glastonbury. The thorn also featured on a British Postage stamp
s on the 12p and 13p Christmas stamp
s in 1986.
In March 2011, it was reported that a new shoot had appeared on the vandalised tree.
Many have tried to grow the Glastonbury Holy Thorn from seed and direct cuttings, but in the later part of the 20th century all attempts reverted to the normal hawthorn type, flowering only in spring.
This tree has been widely propagated by grafting or cuttings, with the cultivar
name 'Biflora' or 'Praecox'. An early antiquarian account by Mr Eyston was given in Hearse's History and Antiquities of Glastonbury, 1722 : "There is a person about Glastonbury who has a nursery of them, who, Mr. Paschal tells us he is informed, sells them for a crown a piece, or as he can get."
The tree in the grounds of the abbey was pronounced dead in June 1991, and cut down the following February. However, many cuttings were taken from it before its destruction. The pre-1991 thorn in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey
is said to be a cutting from the original plant which was planted in secret after the original was destroyed. Now only trees budded or grafted from the original exist, and these blossom twice a year, in May and at Christmas. The blossoms of the Christmas shoots are usually much smaller than the May ones and do not produce any haw
s. Plants grown from the haws do not retain the characteristics of the parent stem.
The present "sacred thorn tree" at the Church of St John
was grown from a local cutting, like many others in the neighbourhood of Glastonbury. The large tree had been in the churchyard for eighty years. It was planted by Mr George Chislett, then head gardener of Glastonbury Abbey. He also learned how to graft Holy Thorn cuttings onto the root of blackthorn
stock, and so preserve the “miraculous” Christmas blossoming characteristic. His son, Wilf, sent Holy Thorns all over the world, including to Washington, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Luckily, trees survive from earlier grafts to perpetuate the Glastonbury legend, among them two other Holy Thorns in the grounds of St John’s. The blossom sent to the Queen now comes from one of these. 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.
In 1965, the Queen erected a wooden cross at Glastonbury with the following inscription:
"The cross, the symbol of our faith, the gift of Queen Elizabeth II, marks a Christian sanctuary so ancient that only legend can record its origin."
Common Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it is an invasive weed...
, Crataegus monogyna 'Biflora' (sometimes incorrectly called Crataegus oxyacantha
Crataegus oxyacantha
The name Crataegus oxyacantha L. has been rejected as being of uncertain application, but is sometimes still used.-Taxonomy:Linnaeus introduced the name Crataegus oxyacantha for a species of Northern European Hawthorn and the name gradually became used for several similar species which were assumed...
var. praecox), found in and around Glastonbury
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. Unlike ordinary hawthorn trees, it flowers twice a year (hence the name "biflora"), the first time in winter and the second time in spring. The trees in the Glastonbury area have been propagated by grafting
Grafting
Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...
since ancient times.
It is associated with legends about Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
and the arrival of Christianity in Britain, and has appeared in written texts since the medieval period. A flowering sprig is sent to the British Monarch every Christmas. The original tree has been propagated several times, with one tree growing at Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
and another in the churchyard of the Church of St John
Church of St John the Baptist, Glastonbury
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 "original" Glastonbury Thorn was cut down and burned as a relic of superstition during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and one planted on Wearyall Hill in 1951 to replace it had its branches cut off in 2010.
History
According to legend, Joseph of ArimatheaJoseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
visited Glastonbury with the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
and thrust his staff into Wearyall Hill, which then grew into the original thorn tree. Early writers do not connect Joseph to the arrival of Christianity in Britain, and the first literary source to place him in Britain appeared in the ninth century. The historicity of Joseph's presence in Glastonbury remains controversial, but the thorn is first mentioned in an early sixteenth-century metrical Lyfe of Joseph of Arimathea. The anonymous author notes that the thorn was unusual in that it flowered twice in a year, once as normal on "old wood" in spring, and once on "new wood" (the current season's matured new growth) in the winter. This flowering of the Glastonbury Thorn in mild weather just past midwinter was accounted miraculous.
At the time of the adoption of the revised Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
in Britain in 1752, the Gentleman's Magazine reported that curious visitors went to see whether the Glastonbury Thorn kept to the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
or the new one:
The original Glastonbury Thorn itself was cut down and burned as a relic of superstition by Cromwellian
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
troops (or 'Roundheads' by another source) during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Royal tradition
The custom of sending a budded branch of the Glastonbury thorn to the Queen at Christmas was initiated by James MontagueJames Montague (bishop)
James Montague was an English bishop.-Life:He was the son of Sir Edward Montague of Boughton, and grandson of Edward Montagu....
, Bishop of Bath and Wells during James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
's reign, who sent a branch to Queen Anne
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
, King James I's consort. A spray of Holy Thorn from the Glastonbury Thorn tree was sent to the Sovereign
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
each Christmas by the Vicar and Mayor of Glastonbury. The thorn also featured on a British Postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s on the 12p and 13p Christmas stamp
Christmas stamp
Many nations of the world issue Christmas stamps, postage stamps with a Christmas theme and intended for use on seasonal mail such as Christmas cards. These stamps are regular postage stamps, unlike Christmas seals, and are usually valid for postage year-round...
s in 1986.
2010 vandalism
The Glastonbury Thorn was once again attacked by vandals and its branches cut off, in this case the 1951 specimen that was growing on Wearyall Hill on the south western side of the town, on 9 December 2010.In March 2011, it was reported that a new shoot had appeared on the vandalised tree.
Propagation
This tree has been widely propagated by grafting or cuttings, with the cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
name 'Biflora' or 'Praecox'. An early antiquarian account by Mr Eyston was given in Hearse's History and Antiquities of Glastonbury, 1722 : "There is a person about Glastonbury who has a nursery of them, who, Mr. Paschal tells us he is informed, sells them for a crown a piece, or as he can get."
The tree in the grounds of the abbey was pronounced dead in June 1991, and cut down the following February. However, many cuttings were taken from it before its destruction. The pre-1991 thorn in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
is said to be a cutting from the original plant which was planted in secret after the original was destroyed. Now only trees budded or grafted from the original exist, and these blossom twice a year, in May and at Christmas. The blossoms of the Christmas shoots are usually much smaller than the May ones and do not produce any haw
Common Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it is an invasive weed...
s. Plants grown from the haws do not retain the characteristics of the parent stem.
The present "sacred thorn tree" at the Church of St John
Church of St John the Baptist, Glastonbury
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....
was grown from a local cutting, like many others in the neighbourhood of Glastonbury. The large tree had been in the churchyard for eighty years. It was planted by Mr George Chislett, then head gardener of Glastonbury Abbey. He also learned how to graft Holy Thorn cuttings onto the root of blackthorn
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
stock, and so preserve the “miraculous” Christmas blossoming characteristic. His son, Wilf, sent Holy Thorns all over the world, including to Washington, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Luckily, trees survive from earlier grafts to perpetuate the Glastonbury legend, among them two other Holy Thorns in the grounds of St John’s. The blossom sent to the Queen now comes from one of these. 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.
In 1965, the Queen erected a wooden cross at Glastonbury with the following inscription:
"The cross, the symbol of our faith, the gift of Queen Elizabeth II, marks a Christian sanctuary so ancient that only legend can record its origin."