Glastonbury Tor Painting by sSanley Port
Acrylics on board: 45 x 35 cm
This is a commissioned painting of the Glastonbury Tor.
The Glastonbury Tor Painting shows one of the most famous landmarks in Somerset and S W England. You can see it from up to 20 miles away because of its conical shape, 500 ft height and it is natural. In early history it was just an island and in winter it would have towered above the flooded Somerset Levels. Terracing on the hillside dates from Neolithic times and there appears to have been early pagan and Christian settlements on it. The top of the Tor was levelled in the 10th or 11th centuries to allow the building of a stone church. An earthquake in 1225 demolished this in 1225 and afterwards a smaller church was built in 1323. That has since been quarried for its stone and now only the tower survives.
There lurk legends of King Arthur and that he might be buried here or in the area. At times it was certainly a sacred site.
Many visitors take a walk to the top of the Tor to enjoy the wide views of Somerset. The annual Glastonbury Festival takes place a few miles away in June.
