© Sue Vincent

His great-Uncle Ian told him everyone in Glaston knew about the Shrine but no one would say much about it. Terry Walker had only met Uncle Ian once before and that’s when he was only six. His mother’s uncle had made a rare trip across the “pond” to visit the last remaining member of the family. Mom couldn’t have any more children, so whatever legacy Ian Lawrence possessed would go to Terry.

When Terry graduated from UC Santa Barbara, he decided to take a year off and travel. Uncle Ian was now quite elderly but very welcoming when he wrote him saying he would like to visit (the old man didn’t even own a computer so emailing was out of the question). There were only about eighty households in Glaston plus a public house, but unlike most of his age mates, after a hectic four years at university amid the Southern California sprawl, and then a lengthy sojourn in several European countries, he was looking forward to some quiet study in an idyllic setting.

Terry had a Bachelor’s in History with an emphasis in 18th century Europe and he was especially interested in visiting the historic St. Andrew’s church. Ian had formerly been the Deacon at St. Andrew’s and had preserved a number of the church’s important papers and artifacts, some dating back to the 15th century or earlier. He still kept some of them in his home library which is how Terry discovered the existence of the Shrine.

Continue reading →