History of The Shrine

Legend says that Joseph of Arimathea built a wattle Church when he came to these shores and, whether it is true or not, it is a historical fact that there was a very early Christian settlement here.

When the Saxons reached Glastonbury in AD 658, the 'old Church' as it was known, was already standing, and dedicated to Our Lady. The so-called Charter of King Ina refers to the Wattle Church as the 'Ecclesia Vetusta Beatissimae Virginis', the old Church of the most Blessed Virgin - also known as the 'Lignea Basilica' (the wooden church), and described it as "the foremost Church in Britain, the fount and source of all religion". The earliest reference to its dedication - to "Blessed Mary and Blessed Patrick" - however, is in a royal land grant which dates back possibly to AD681 - not long after the recently converted Saxons reached Glastonbury.

On 25th May 1184, not long after the completion of the Abbey, both Abbey and Church were burned to the ground in the 'Great Fire'.

Very soon afterwards, on the same holy ground; a stone Church of the same dimensions was built and consecrated in AD 1186, it was dedicated to Our Lady, the ancient shrine was continued, the old statue was again set up for veneration.

During the Middle Ages, Glastonbury was an outstanding centre of pilgrimage, the great annual pilgrimage being on the 8th of September, Our Lady's birthday.

In 1539 Henry VIII dissolved the Abbey and the statue was lost. From this date the memory of the ancient Shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury seemed to have gone for ever from England.

Nearly 400 years later, in 1926, a small Church was built and in 1939 the foundations of a new Church were laid. It would be dedicated to Our Lady, and would be a successor to the ancient Shrine of our Lady of Glastonbury. It stands just across the road from the old Abbey, on land which formerly formed part of the Abbot's park of Wirral...