LONDON — The rare thorn tree had ties to the early days of Christianity, and pilgrims often left offerings at its base. Local children honored it each year by cutting sprigs to place on Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas dining table.
Now British police want to know who sawed off the historic limbs of the Glastonbury Holy Thorn Tree, reducing it to a stump. And they want to know why.
“I’ve just driven past the site, and people are coming out in tears,” said Glastonbury Mayor John Coles. “I’ve never seen a sadder sight, or a more serious act of vandalism, in my 60 years in Glastonbury.”
Coles said the nighttime attack came between Wednesday and Thursday shortly after he, the local vicar and schoolchildren participated in the annual sprig cutting for the queen’s Christmas table.
Katherine Gorbing, director of Glastonbury Abbey, said the tree originally came from the Middle East and is a type of thorn tree common in Lebanon. It typically lives about 100 years, but locals have kept it going by taking grafts and clippings from the tree to plant new ones when the existing one is nearing the end of its natural life span.
