The Tribunal

above the entrance]] Glastonbury Tribunal owes its name to the fact that it was formerly mistakenly identified with the Abbey's tribunals, where secular justice was administered for Glaston Twelve Hides. The name may have been first used by John Collinson in his History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset in 1791, however when investigated by Richard Warner in 1826 he could not identify where the name had originated. It was also thought to be the site of trials by Judge Jeffreys for the Bloody Assizes after the Monmouth Rebellion. In the 16th century a new facade was added to the original building. It is possible that the stonework and window of the front wall were removed from the…

The building has two rooms and an attached kitchen on the ground floor with a staircase between them leading to the living quarters in the first floor rooms. The front room may originally have been a shop but was not used for trade after the installation of the new front wall in the 16th century. The rear room on the ground floor was the hall and still has its 16th-century ceiling panels and four-light window. The ceiling has plaster decorations from the Elizabethan era, when the kitchen block was also added. The wooden stairs leading to the first floor replaced an earlier stone staircase, the remains of which can be seen protruding from the walls. The front room on the first floor had…