Bride's Mound

Brides Mound is one of the less frequented sacred places in Glastonbury. It lies on the outskirts of town at the edge of the former Morland’s site, an old sheepskin factory, that has been abandoned for well over twenty years and has just begun to be developed. Bride's Mound plays a significant part in Glastonbury's history and a number of local people have, for a long time, been concerned about its derelict state and felt that a sanctuary should be recreated there. In 1995, spurred on by the threat of development as a part of the Morland's site, a group called the Friends of Bride's Mound was formed.

In 2005, three fields, including the Ridgefield lying at the Western end of the Mound, were purchased by the Friends. However, the mound itself, known as the chapel field, is owned by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) and lies undeveloped and neglected. In 2000, the Friends gave evidence at the Public Inquiry for the District Local Plan, establishing that the whole chapel field is outside the Morland's development limit. The Inspector supported their intentions that this place should be respected for its spiritual significance and reported that any use of the site which fails to respect the setting of the chapel would not be allowed. In 2009, SWRDA, in partnership with Mendip District Council, began drawing up plans as to how the area might be developed.

Progress is slow, but Bride's Mound may one day be restored and once again become a significant feature in the Glastonbury timeline.

The fields to the West of the Mound have recently been planted with an avenue of trees and two new gates have been installed. There is an abundance of wildlife and flora, and a walk to the river takes you to the stone that once marked the site of Bride's Well. The Mound itself is overgrown with brambles and nettles. Footfall has marked paths through to the site of the chapel and it is still possible to connect to the sacred energy of Bride's Mound.

Brides Mound is located in an area known as Beckery. A papal charter of 1168 CE refers to Beckery as the one of the seven islands in the Abbey's estate, these being Avalon, Beckery, Marchey, Godney, Meare, Panborough and Nyland.

The true derivation of the name may be from bheach na hAorai meaning Mound of the Bees from bheachaire ay meaning Beekeeper's Island. Beckery also became known as the Women's Quarter, perhaps because there was a community of religious women living there as a result of the Abbey's precincts being exclusively male. In later years it became known locally as Little Ireland due to the many Irish visitors that came here on Pilgrimage in honour of St. Brigid. Excavations on the mound have revealed the remains of a chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene. This chapel was part of a Mary Magdalene hermitage, and it was here St. Brigid came to stay in the 5th century.

William of Malmesbury, writing circa 1135 CE, and the monk John of Glastonbury, writing circa 1400 CE, both describe traditions of St. Brigid visiting Glastonbury in 488 CE and that she spent time at Bride's Mound. Relics of hers, including a spindle and a bell, are said to have been left at Bride's Mound where they were displayed in the chapel - both writers implying that these relics were still at Bride's Mound at the time of writing. John of Glastonbury also mentions a chapel at Beckery dedicated to St. Brigid, which had a special opening in the southern wall that healed those who passed through it.

The mound once had a spring, known as Bride’s Well. The original well disappeared and, in the 1920's, a sluice connecting a drainage ditch to the river was used instead. A stone marking the site was erected by Wellesley Tudor Pole and a thorn tree grew by the sluice upon which people tied pieces of material called clootie rags as an offering in return for a blessing and/or healing. The thorn tree was destroyed when the river bank was raised and the stone was moved back a short distance from the river to the old drainage ditch where it remains today. Researcher and dowser, Anthony John Kennish, has located what he believes is the site of the original well. For more information see Glastonbury Chronicles by A J Kennish, available from Glastonbury Pilgrim Reception Centre.

Bride's Mound takes its name from Bride (pronounced Breed), Brigit and Brighde (pronounced Bree-dah), the Triple Goddess of the Celts. Bride was one of the most widely worshipped Goddesses in Celtic Britain and is known as the Guardian of Wells and Springs. Furthermore, She has an affinity with Fire and is entitled Keeper of the Flame and Goddess of Fire. The Grail is associated with Her through its link to the Cauldron of Inspiration which was given to the Dagda, father of Bride. Unable to remove such a powerful Deity from the Celtic people, Bride was adapted by the Roman Catholic Church into the cult of St Brigid, who founded a religious community at Kildare in Ireland.

According to legend, King Arthur was told in a dream to visit the Mary Magdalene Chapel at Beckery. Whilst doing so, he received a vision of the Virgin Mary, holding the Infant Jesus. She presented Arthur with a crystal cross which he gave to the Abbot of Glastonbury who placed it above the High Altar. This crystal cross is now said to be one of the lost treasures of Glastonbury. The experience led Arthur to adopt a new coat-of-arms, replacing the Pagan Red Dragon with a crystal cross on a green background and an image of the Virgin and Child in the top left hand corner and is said to have contributed to Arthur's conversion to Christianity.

Brigid the Goddess

Brigid is a deity who can be seen in many different cultures. She is believed to have been Brigantia in England, Bride in Scotland, and Brigandu in Wales and France. She is thought to be the same Goddess who was worshipped at Bath in ancient Britain as well as the patroness of countless springs and wells in Ireland.

Brigid was said to be born in the instance between night and day. As She rose with the sun, a beam of flame was said to have sprung from Her forehead. That She was born on a threshold is a very import aspect of the legend. The ancient Celts were fascinated by in-between places such as shores, the instant of sunrise, the instant of season change, doorways, and other places that lay instantaneously between two places while being in neither.

Brigid is the traditional Patroness of Fire, Smith Craft, Poetry and Healing. As a solar deity Her attributes are Light, Inspiration and all Skills associated with Fire. Called 'The Exalted One' or 'The High One', Brigid was known under several names from ancient through modern times. She was perhaps the most widespread, ancient and revered Goddess in Celtic culture. Her connections to Healing also connect Her to Water, as does her Cauldron of Inspiration and many springs and wells bear the name of Brigid. As Goddess of Fire, Keeper of the Flame, Goddess of Smith Craft and Goddess of the Wells, it is not too great a leap to see Her as Lady of the Lake and the Forger of Excalibur.

Her evolution from Goddess to Saint linked Pagan Celtic and Christian traditions in the same way as the Cauldron of Cerridwen and the Holy Grail were combined in Arthurian legend. She acts as a bridge between the two worlds and has successfully made the transition back to Goddess again with most of Her traditions retained.

Brigid the Saint

St. Brigid's life was a remarkable one and the places in Ireland associated with her are scenes of pilgrimage throughout the year. She was born in a society ruled by the old Gaelic Order and the Druidic religion. St. Patrick had already reached Ireland and was in the process of making many changes, but though his message had reached the court of Dubhtach, the powerful Leinster Chieftain held firm to the old religion and the worship of the Goddess Brid.

Around 453 CE, a child was born out of wedlock between Dubhtach and one of his Christian slaves named Brocessa. The mother was sold to a Chieftain in Connaught, and the child was given to a Druid to be raised and educated. The child was named Brigid, perhaps to seek the blessing of the Goddess, as from the very beginning there were indications that she was a special child. It was reported that she was born at sunrise, and that the cottage in which she was born burst into flame when she left it.

After her fosterage, she returned to her father's house as a slave, although she enjoyed the privileges of family. The stories tell us that she became a vestal virgin in service to the Goddess Brid, and eventually high priestess at Kil Dara (the Temple of the Oak) which gave its name to the present County Kildare. There she and her companions kept a perpetual ritual fire in honour of Brid. The exact circumstances of her conversion to Christianity are unknown. Some claim that she personally met St. Patrick which is possible since she was ten years old before he died but there is no proof of that. Whatever the circumstances, Brigid and her companions in service to Brid, all accepted the Christian faith and formed Ireland's first Christian religious community of women. Legend says that upon her acceptance of her vows, fire appeared above her head.

Brigid changed the Pagan sanctuary of Kil Dara into a Christian shrine. She extinguished the ritual fire of the Druids, and lit a flame dedicated to Christ which was thereafter maintained by her followers until it was doused by the forces of Henry VIII. She continued her work until her death in 525 CE, when she was laid to rest in her abbey. In 835 CE, her remains were moved to protect them from Norse invaders, and interred in the same grave that holds the remains of St. Patrick and St. Columcille at Downpatrick.

The Blue Bowl

In 1902 Wellesley Tudor Pole dreamed that he was a monk at Glastonbury Abbey and so powerful was the experience he felt compelled to travel to Glastonbury.
Pole became convinced that here was his spiritual home and that something important would be discovered. He also received an impression that he would need a ‘triad of maidens’ to find whatever it was. In September 1906, Wellesley, along with his sister Katherine and her friends Janet Allen and Christine Duncan (nee Allen), discovered an artefact in the sluice at Bride’s Mound. Their find was a curious blue glass bowl that had, unbeknownst to them, been placed there in 1899 by Dr. John Arthur Goodchild.

Goodchild was an English medical practitioner, and spent his winters in Bordighera, Italy treating the many English tuberculosis patients resident there. In the summer months he lived in Hampshire and Bath. In February 1885, he purchased the glass bowl and a platter in a tailor's shop in Bordighera. The vendor claimed these items had been found bricked up in the walls of an old building which was being demolished in Albegna, a village between Bordighera and Genoa. Goodchild took the items back to London and showed his find to Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks (1826-1897), Keeper of the British and Medieval Antiquities at the British Museum. However Franks findings were inconclusive in that he was unable to explain the process of its manufacture. He also stated that the bowl was unlike any other known example and probably ancient.

In 1897, Goodchild was staying in Paris and he experienced an intense psychic experience in his hotel room. He heard a voice telling him that Jesus once carried the bowl and that it was to be important in the century to come. The voice told Goodchild to hide the bowl at Bride's Mound, where a woman would find it and care for it. Seven years later, Pole, his sister Kitty and her two friends eventually found the bowl which now resides at Chalice Well.

For more on the fascinating story of the Blue Bowl,
see The Avalonians by Patrick Benham, ISBN 0 906362 68 7

Morgana West


For more info about Bride’s Mound see www.friendsofbridesmound.com

Thanks to Morgana West for the photograph.