Glastonbury Tribunal

Late 15th-century stone town house in Glastonbury, run with English Heritage, that holds the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum and a tourist information centre.

Opening hours

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About the museum

The Tribunal is a stone town house in Glastonbury High Street dating from the late 15th century. It was once thought to have been a courtroom of Glastonbury Abbey where secular justice was handed out, but it may instead have been used by one of the abbey's officials. A separate kitchen block stands at the rear.

In the early 16th century the projecting bay on the first floor was added, and the Tudor rose and the badge of Abbot Beer, who died in 1524, were reset above the entrance passage. Later the house was let to different tenants and divided by partitions, windows were inserted in the 17th century, and the kitchen block was added in Elizabethan times. Inside, the ground-floor front room has an arched fireplace and 16th-century linenfold panelling, and the first-floor front room keeps its original open roof.

Today the building houses a tourist information centre and the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum on the upper floor. The museum shows finds from an Iron Age village discovered in 1892 on the Somerset marshes, where people lived on an artificial platform reached by dug-out canoe and wooden trackways. The peaty soil preserved wood, iron and bronze objects that illustrate the villagers' domestic life and crafts.

Highlights

Glastonbury Lake Village Museum with Iron Age finds on the upper floor
Late 15th-century stone town house with an early Tudor front
16th-century linenfold panelling and a panelled ceiling
Elizabethan rear kitchen block
Tourist information centre in the building

Permanent exhibition

Glastonbury Lake Village Museum – Upper-floor display of finds from the Iron Age lake village discovered near Glastonbury in 1892, showing the villagers' domestic life, crafts and industry.

Operated by: Glastonbury Town Council (property of English Heritage)

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible: no information
Elevator: not available
Accessible restroom: not available
Accessible parking
Service dogs welcome
Tactile models & exhibits: no information
Sign language tours: no information
Easy-to-read materials: no information
Audio description: no information

The building has steep stairs and uneven surfaces and no lift, and there is no accessible toilet or induction loop. Assistance dogs are welcome; other dogs are not allowed inside. Visitors with disabilities can be set down at the entrance or park by the back gate in St John's car park by prior arrangement, and reserved bays are available in the town centre car park.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

By public transit

The Bakers-Dolphin 668 bus passes the site, and First services 29, 375 and 377 serve the area. Webber Bus 37 and 38 and the Frome Minibuses 669 stop within half a mile. The site is on the National Cycle Network.

By car

No on-site parking at the museum.

There is no English Heritage car park. The council's town centre car park, about 275 metres from the entrance, charges a small fee and has reserved bays for disabled drivers.