AN ENGLISH VENICE. 
BY A. B. BADGER, M.A. 
Glastonbury on account of its beautiful old ruins and close 
connection with the early history of our country has long held 
a high place among historic towns ; the recent discovery there 
of a lake-village (the only one known in England) will add 
further renown to a place already very rich in notable antiquities. 
During a recent visit to Somerset, I had the pleasure of seeing 
this prehistoric British settlement, and I found it so interesting 
that I have thought an account of it would not be unacceptable to 
some of the readers of “ The Midland Naturalist ” who have not yet 
seen the village or heard much about it. I should add that what 
follows is written by one who has no special knowledge of 
archaeology, but, as it is largely founded on the descriptions and 
papers of Mr. Arthur Bulleid, the discoverer of the village, 
Professor Boyd-Dawkins, and other authorities, I trust no errors of 
importance will be found to mar it. 
Those who have visited Glastonbury will know that that town 
lies at the base of a hill—the celebrated Tor—which makes a 
prominent landmark, standing up as it does from the surrounding 
flat country. To the north and west there stretches mile after mile 
of the moorland which runs eastward from the Bristol Channel, and 
forms the central part of Somerset. So low does this region lie, 
that near Glastonbury the surface of the ground is only fifteen feet 
above the level of high water in the sea, some fourteen miles away. 
With such a small fall in the ground, it is easy to understand that 
until comparatively recently the moorland levels of central Somerset 
were but marsh and lake, and that as late as 1540 this part of the 
county was covered by stretches of water and swamp, some of 
which measured several miles in circumference. In still earlier times 
it is probable that there was continuous water from Glastonbury 
to the Bristol Channel, for, according to the old tradition, Saint 
Joseph of Arimathea sailed up to the town, on his missionary 
journey there. However that may be, and apart from historic 
records, it is certain from geological data that not so very long ago 
November, 1893. 
