HISTORY OF GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL
We are delighted to announce that the October Thomas Arnold Lecture will be delivered by Michael Eavis, founder of Glastonbury Festival.
Eavis was born in Dorset and grew up at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset. His father was a local Methodist preacher, and his mother, a school teacher. Eavis was educated at Wells Cathedral School, followed by the Thames Nautical Training College after which he joined the Union-Castle Line, part of the British Merchant Navy, as a trainee Midshipman.
His plan was to spend twenty years at sea, and return with a pension to help subsidise the income from the family farm. After his father died in 1958, Eavis inherited the family farm at the age of 19. In 1969, Eavis visited the Bath Festival of Blues. Inspired by seeing the performance of Led Zeppelin, he hosted the Pilton Pop Festival in 1970 and then a free festival, Glastonbury Fair was organised by Andrew Kerr the following year. The fair developed into the Glastonbury Festival. In 2009, Eavis was nominated by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world. In 2012, Eavis was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University for the Creative Arts.
Today, Glastonbury Festival aims to raise two million pounds for all sorts of ways to make the quality of life better than it is, at present, for millions of people.
Although this event is free, it is essential that you book in order to secure a place. Please contact Jenni Blair, the Headmaster’s PA, on [email protected] or on 01985 210101 if you wish to attend. We recommend an early response as tickets will be issued on a first come, first served basis.