Interview (for dissertation): Janet Bell, "Roman Influence on Glastonbury Abbey and Christian Archit

What year was the Abbey built? The present ruins date from the Romanesque period, which was between the 6th and 10th centuries. The present Lady Chapel was rebuilt after the fire of 1184. There were several subsequent phases of extension and rebuilding of the abbey church and precinct until the abbey was destroyed in the Dissolution in 1538-39. There is archaeological evidence for earlier underlying buildings and written historical evidence which is summarised by Rahtz but there is no definite date for the foundation of the abbey. How did the Abbey come to be in terms of the influence of the Roman Empire? Hard to answer. There is some evidence for Roman occupation on the site but this does not necessarily imply Christian use. Do you believe that Christianity has the same influence on architecture today is it has in the past? Personally I don’t believe that Christianity has the same influence on architecture today as it did in the past. The church appears to have been the main patron of architecture and ecclesiastical buildings must account for a large part of our remaining medieval buildings which suggests that they were at least built more substantially than other buildings which have not survived.