The Chalice Well & Gardens

 

Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury, England

Chalice Hill is the third and gentlest of the three hills which form the heart of Glastonbury’s sacred landscape. It stands between the town and the Tor, effectively hiding the bulk of the taller hill from the town. It has long been considered the most sacred of the hills, and it is believed by many to have been the final resting place of the Grail. A spring, rich in iron which turns the water red, rises here, and a peaceful garden has grown up around it in the past decade, owned and looked after by a local trust.

The reddish tinge to the water resulted in its once being called the Blood Spring; in modern times, it has been mystically associated with the blood of Christ caught in the Grail.

Within the garden, which is surrounded by medieval stonework and rises up the lower slopes of the hill, there are a number of sheltered spots in which the visitor may stop and meditate or dream of the Grail and Arthur. The well-head is covered with an elaborate lid with a fine wrought-iron sculpture of the Vesica Pisces, a sign interpreted as representing the overlapping of the inner and outer worlds. Lower down, the waters spill out of a carved ornate fountain-head and fill a series of stepped bowls which echo the shape of the well-cover design. The reddish tinge to the water resulted in its once being called the Blood Spring; in modern times, it has been mystically associated with the blood of Christ caught in the Grail.