The Glastonbury Thorn and Joseph of Arimathea
A record in The Hawthorn Archive, preserving folklore with its place, type and source context attached.
A later Christian legend associated the Glastonbury Thorn in Somerset with Joseph of Arimathea. In the story, Joseph reached Glastonbury and planted his staff in the ground, where it took root and became a thorn.
The tradition is culturally important without being evidence that Joseph historically travelled to Somerset. The thorn became part of Glastonbury’s religious identity through storytelling, cultivation of associated trees, visitation and later ceremony.
The story is a clear example of sacred history being attached to a particular English landscape and living plant.
Source trail: heritage and botanical accounts of the Glastonbury Thorn discussed in the related Hawthorn & Key Journal article.
Related Journal record: Hawthorn in British Folklore.