Glastonbury celebrates 300 years of its charter: photos at Tercentenary event in town hall, hosted by Conservation Society

Jim Nagel

To help celebrate the tercentenary of Queen Anne granting the town its charter in 1705, the Glastonbury Conservation Society hosted an evening at the town hall on Wednesday March 30, to hear Dr Robert Dunning, the county and Abbey historian, explain how Glastonbury, unlike many other towns, came to have a mayor. Around 150 people including VIPs turned out to hear the talk.

Three older men stand wearing suits and looking at the camera. The man in the centre wears glasses and is smiling widely. They hold small drinking glasses. They are in a room with wooden panelling on the walls and light blue painted walls above. On the wall are some framed photographs of people in mayoral robes. — Left to right: John Coles, Glastonbury town councillor, John Brunsdon, chairman of Glastonbury Conservation Society and a councillor, and Dr Robert Dunning, county historian and chairman of Glastonbury Abbey trustees.

Two older men and a woman stand looking at the camera. The men wear suits, and the woman wears a blouse and a thick gold chain. They hold drinks. Behind are some other people, and a window looking out to a grey sky and a building across the street. Next to the window are framed portraits of people in mayoral clothing. — Roger Cookman, chairman of Wells Civic Society, Elaine Cookman, and Major Ian Rands, vice-chairman of Glastonbury Conservation Society.

Two men and a woman stand looking at he camera. The woman smiles widely, and wears a coat and an ornate medallion on a thick blue and gold ribbon. The man on the right, who has a grey beard, glasses, and short dark hair, wears a suit and an ornate medallion on a dark green and gold ribbon. The man on the left has short grey hair and is clean-shaven. He wears a grey jacket and a busy gold and blue tie with a floral design. He wears a thick gold chain with a red and gold medallion, over the jacket and his chest. Each hold drinks. Behind them are framed portraits and a large painting with an ornate gold frame. Below it is a plaque. — Nick Cottle, mayor of Glastonbury, Nancy Parker, president of Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce, and David Pipes, chairman of Street Parish Council, in front of the portrait of Peter King, who was largely responsible for obtaining the town’s charter from Queen Anne in 1705 and was the first of the seven "capital burgesses" named in it.

Two older men and an older woman stand looking at the camera. They hold drinks. The men wear suits. The man on the left has dark hair with some grey in it, and he has glasses. He wears an ornate gold chain with a medallion, over his jacket and tie. The man in the centre wears a grey suit and a blue shirt, and has mid-length grey hair and glasses. The woman on the right has short white hair and round glasses, and wears a maroon jacket and skirt. They hold drinks. — Martin Bax, mayor of Frome, John Peverley, chairman of Frome Civic Society, and Jacqueline Peverley, a Frome councillor.

Two men and two women stand smiling and looking at the camera. The man on the far left and the woman next to him wear thick gold chains with medallions at the ends. The man wears a dark suit and a lavender shirt. He has short grey hair and a beard. The woman has short curly blonde hair, and deep red lipstick. She wears a rose jacket over a patterned hibiscus dress. The next woman has short wavy light hair and pinkish lipstick, and wears a grey coat over an emerald blouse. The man on the far right is tallest, and has horn-rimmed glasses and short grey hair. He wears a grey three-piece suit and a striped white shirt and a navy tie with a pattern. — Harvey Siggs, mayor of Wells, Sue Siggs, Fiona Densham, high sheriff of Somerset (on her first engagement after taking up the office), and Andrew Densham.

Two men stand and look at the camera. The man on the left wears a dark suit with a white shirt and silver tie. He has short dark hair and a grey beard, and wears glasses. He has a stern expression. Over his jacket he wears a thick ornate gold and dark green ribbon which has a gold and dark green medallion at the end. The other man has short dark hair swept back with some grey in it, and is clean-shaven. He wears a grey pinstriped suit, a white patterned shirt and a steel blue hatched tie. Behind them is a painting in a thick ornate gold frame. — David Pipes, chairman of Street Parish Council, and David Thomson, chief executive of Mendip District Council.

A woman in red and white upper-class early-modern-period dress sits on an opulent throne. She holds a dark red velvet-looking item in her gloved hands, and a purse hangs from her left arm. Two men stand beside her in navy and gold robes, holding staffs. — Queen Anne on her throne (played by Muriel Mudie), flanked by Michael King and Victor Jones, the Glastonbury macebearers.

In the foreground, on the right, an older man in a grey suit stands at the top of some stairs leading up to the level the others are on, facing them, and looks down at some paper he is holding. — John Brunsdon brings Queen Anne up to date on the town’s history since she granted its charter in 1705. Mr Brunsdon was himself mayor in 1980 and 1983 and is a Freeman of the town. He also serves on Mendip District Council.

An audience faces the camera. Most sit on chairs, some are walking towards or from their chairs. The focus is on the front row, in which sit two women and two men. One of the men, second from left, wears a thick ornate gold chain over his grey jacket and tie. At the end of the chain is an ornate gold and red medallion. — In the front row of the audience of 150 at the town hall: Lady Gass, lord lieutenant of Somerset, Nick Cottle, mayor of Glastonbury, Fiona Densham, high sheriff of Somerset, and Andrew Densham.

Two men stand in front of a stage, either side of a small empty table, wearing navy and gold robes, with white frills at the neck. They have bicorne hats and hold metal staffs with ornate heads. The man on the left has a stern expression, while the man on the right, who has many colourful medals on his chest, smiles. — The Glastonbury macebearers, Michael King and Victor Jones.

Two men stand in a large room, wearing navy and gold robes, with white frills at the neck. They have bicorne hats and hold metal staffs with ornate heads. The man on the right has a stern expression, and the head of his mace covers part of his face, while the man on the right, who has many colourful medals on his chest, smiles. — The macebearers demonstrated that contrary to popular belief, the mace is not used to bash the heads of the unruly: “**This** is what you do,” said Mr King, swinging the much more lethal handle end into your photographer’s unsuspecting midsection and **then** bashing him.

A man with short wavy red hair stands smiling at the camera. He wears a light grey suit over a white shirt and a chequered silver tie. Around his neck is a gold chain, at the end of which is a gold and red medallion. Behind him is a large framed painting in an ornate gold frame. — Tom Billing, town councillor and deputy mayor, will become Glastonbury’s 300th mayor this spring. Behind him in the council chamber of the town hall is the portrait of the first Recorder (1705–08) of Glastonbury, Peter Lord King, Baron of Ockham and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, through whose influence the charter of incorporation was granted to the borough by Queen Anne in 1705. The painter was Sir Godfrey Kneller (1648–1725).