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User:Kudpung/History of Malvern, Worcestershire

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Welcome to Malvern, on an approach road to the town centre.

Malvern (/ˈmɔːlvərn, ˈmɒl-/, locally also: /ˈmɔːvərn/)[1][2] in Worcestershire, England traces its history as a human settlement back to the early Bronze age around 1000 BCE, although it is not known whether these settlements were permanent or temporary.[3]. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dramatically in Victorian times due to the natural mineral water springs in the vicinity, including Malvern water. The town itself was founded in the 11th century when Benedictine monks established a priory at the foot of the highest peak of Malvern Hills.[4]: 17–24 [5] During the 19th century Malvern developed rapidly from a village to a sprawling conurbation owing to its popularity as a hydrotherapy spa based on its spring waters.[6]: 197–198  Immediately following the decline of spa tourism towards the end of the 19th century, the town's focus shifted to education with the establishment of several private boarding schools in former hotels and large villas.

History

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Bronze Age to monastic times

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Photo of the British Camp hill showing its terraced Iron Age earthworks
Iron Age earthworks, British Camp

Flint axes, arrowheads, and flakes found in the area are attributed to early Bronze Age settlers,[7]: 2  and the "Shire Ditch", a late Bronze Age boundary earthwork possibly dating from around 1000 BC, was constructed along part of the crest of the hills near the site of later settlements.[3] The Wyche Cutting, a pass through the hills, was in use in prehistoric times as part of the salt route from Droitwich to South Wales.[7]: 3  A 19th-century discovery of over two hundred metal money bars suggests that the area had been inhabited by the La Tène people around 250 BC.[7]: 5  Ancient folklore has it that the British chieftain Caractacus made his last stand against the Romans at the British Camp,[8] a site of extensive Iron Age earthworks on a summit of the Malvern Hills close to where Malvern was to be later established. The story remains disputed, however, as Roman historian Tacitus implies a site closer to the river Severn.[9] There is therefore no evidence that Roman presence ended the prehistoric settlement at British Camp. However, excavations at nearby Midsummer Hill fort, Bredon Hill, and Croft Ambrey all show evidence of violent destruction around the year 48 AD. This may suggest that the British Camp was abandoned or destroyed around the same time.[10]

A study made by Royal Commission in 2005 that includes aerial photographs of the Hills "amply demonstrates the archaeological potential of this largely neglected landscape, and provides food for thought for a number of research projects".[11] A pottery industry based on the Malverns left remains dating from the Late Bronze Age to the Norman Conquest, shown by methods of archaeological petrology.[12] Via the River Severn, products were traded as far as South Wales. The Longdon and other marshes at the foot of Malvern Chase were grazed by cattle. "Woodland management was considerable", providing fuel for the kilns.[12]

Monastic Malvern

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Photo of a large thousand-year-old church
Great Malvern Priory

Little is known about Malvern over the next thousand years until it is described as "an hermitage, or some kind of religious house, for seculars, before the conquest, endowed by the gift of Edward the Confessor".[4]: 14  The additions to William Dugdale's Monasticon include an extract from the Pleas taken before the King at York in 1387, stating that there was a congregation of hermits at Malvern "some time before the conquest".[5] Although a Malvern priory existed before the Norman Conquest, it is the settlement of nearby Little Malvern, the site of another, smaller priory, that is mentioned in the Domesday Book.[13] A motte-and-bailey castle built on the top tier of the earthworks of the British Camp just before the Norman Conquest was probably founded by the Saxon Earl Harold Godwinson of Hereford. It was destroyed by King Henry II in 1155.[14]

The town developed around its 11th-century priory, a Benedictine monastery, of which only the large parish church and the gateway remain.[15] The Priory Gatehouse was built in the late 15th century, and is the second oldest building in Great Malvern after the Norman Priory Church.[16] The Gatehouse was the main entrance into the Priory, and is one of the few monastic buildings to survive the Dissolution of Great Malvern Priory in 1539.[17][18] In 1544 the Gatehouse was sold to William Pynnocke, who sold it a year later to John Knotsford. During the Elizabethan era it passed by marriage to the Savage family, who held it until 1774.[19] In the 19th century the gatehouse was used as offices for solicitors, architects, and estate agents, and its upper floor served as a venue for the Malvern Police Court.[19]

Several slightly different histories explain the actual founding of the religious community. Legend tells that the settlement began following the murder of St. Werstan, a monk of Deerhurst, who fled from the Danes and took refuge in the woods of Malvern, where the hermitage had been established.[4]: 11 [20][21] St Werstan's oratory is thought to have been on the site of St Michael's Chapel, which is believed to have stood on the site of Bello Sguardo, a Victorian villa, which was built on the site of Hermitage Cottage. The cottage was demolished in 1825 and ecclesiastical carvings were found in it, along with a mediaeval undercroft, human bones, and parts of a coffin.[22] Although the legend may be monastic mythology, historians have however concluded that St. Werstan was the original martyr.[23]

Photo of large medieval gateway built around in the fifteenth century
The Abbey Gateway in the town centre is now the home of the Malvern Museum

The first prior, Aldwyn, founded the monastery on his bishop's advice, and by 1135 the monastery included thirty monks.[20] Aldwyn was succeeded by Walcher of Malvern, an astronomer and philosopher from Lorraine in France, whose gravestone inside the priory church records details that the priory arose in 1085 from a hermitage endowed by Edward the Confessor.[20] An ancient stained glass window[24] in the Priory church depicts the legend of St. Werstan, with details of his vision, the consecration of his chapel, Edward the Confessor granting the charter for the site, and Werstan's martyrdom.[25]

An 18th-century document states that in the 18th year of the reign of William the Conqueror (probably 1083), a priory was dedicated to St Mary the Virgin.[26] Victoria County History describes how a hermit Aldwyn, who lived in the reign of Edward the Confessor, had petitioned the Earl of Gloucester for the original site (of the Priory) in the wood, and cites his source as "Gervase of Canterbury, Mappa Mundi (Rolls ser.)".[27]

Large estates in Malvern were part of crown lands given to Gilbert "the Red", the seventh Earl of Gloucester and sixth Earl of Hertford, on his marriage to Joan of Acre the daughter of Edward I, in 1290. Disputed hunting rights on these led to several armed conflicts with Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford that Edward resolved.[28] Nott states that Gilbert made gifts to the Priory, and describes his "great conflict" with Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford, also about hunting rights and a ditch that Gilbert dug, that was settled by costly litigation. Gilbert had a similar conflict with Godfrey Giffard, Bishop and Administrator of Worcester Cathedral (and formerly Chancellor of England). Godfrey, who had granted land to the Priory,[4]: 52  had jurisdictional disputes about Malvern Priory, resolved by Robert Burnell, the current Chancellor.[29]

A discussion in 2005 about the stained glass windows of the Priory Church in terms of the relationship between Church and Laity stresses the importance of Malvern in the development of stained glass. It refers to "the vast and strategically important estates of which Malvern was a part" in the 15th and 16th centuries, to a widespread awareness of Malvern Priory, to the likelihood of a pilgrimage route through the town. The discussion also mentions Thomas Walsingham's view that Malvern was a hiding place of the Lollard knight Sir John Oldcastle in 1414.[30] Chambers wrote, in relation to the stained glass, "the situation of Malvern was so much admired by Henry VII, his Queen (Elizabeth of York) and their two Sons, Prince Arthur, and Prince Henry" that they made substantial endowments.[31]

As a Royal forest, the area and the surrounding chase were subject to forest law. By Tudor times, royal lands had become used as commons and forest law had fallen into disuse.[32]

Post dissolution

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During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the local commissioners were instructed to ensure that abbey churches used for parish worship, should continue or could be purchased by parishioners. Malvern Priory was thus acquired by a William Pinnocke and with it, much of the 15th century stained glass windows.[31] The monastic buildings were taken apart and anything usable was sold off. With the exception of the church building (of which the south transept adjoining the monastery's cloisters was destroyed), all that remains of Malvern's monastery is the Abbey Gateway (also known as the Priory Gatehouse) that houses today's Malvern Museum.Erroneously referred to as the Abbey Gateway, the Priory Gatehouse was built in the late 15th century, and is the second oldest building in Great Malvern after the Norman Priory Church.[33]

The contemporary antiquary John Leland described the Malvern Hills and Hanley Castle. An Elizabethan land grant of 1558 mentions Holy Well.[34] A Crown grant of tithes in 1589 mentions lambs, pigs, calves, eggs, hemp and flax. Elizabeth made her Chancellor, Sir Thomas Bromley, the Lord of the Manor.[31]

King Charles I attempted to enclose and sell two thirds of the Chase, as part of a wider attempt to raise revenue for the Crown from the sale of Royal forests. The attempts to enclose the lands, used as commons, resulted in riots, part of a pattern of disturbances that ran across the disafforested royal lands.[35] In 1633, the Court of Exchequer Chamber decreed the rights of the public to two thirds of the lands on the Malvern Hills, and rights of Sir Cornelius Vermuyden and his descendants, and the Crown, to one third (quoted in the preamble to the Malvern Hills Act 1884).[36] By that time, Malvern had become an established community and the major settlement in the Malvern Chase.[31]

Development as a spa (17th–19th centuries)

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photo of Malvern seen from the hills
The spa town of Great Malvern was laid out and developed largely during the 19th century

The purported health-giving properties of Malvern water and the natural beauty of the surroundings led to the development of Malvern as a spa, with resources for invalids for tourists.[6]: 197  According to legend, the curative benefit of the spring water was known in mediaeval times.[34] The medicinal value and the bottling of Malvern water are mentioned "in a poem attributed to the Reverend Edmund Rea, who became Vicar of Great Malvern in 1612".[34] The occulist Richard Banister wrote about the Eye Well, close to the Holy Well, in a short poem in his Breviary of the Eyes (see Malvern water), in 1622.[37][38][39] In 1756, Dr. John Wall published a 14-page pamphlet on the benefits of Malvern water, that reached a 158-page 3rd edition in 1763.[40] Further praise came from the botanist Benjamin Stillingfleet in 1757, the poet Thomas Warton in 1790, and William Addison, the physician of the Duchess of Kent (mother of Queen Victoria) in 1828, all quoted in a review by the medical historian W. H. McMenemy.[41][42] In his lecture about Malvern at the Royal Institution, Addison spoke of "its pure and invigorating air, the excellence of its water, and the romantic beauty of its scenery".[43] Similar views appeared in the press, Nicholas Vansittart brought his wife Catherine to Malvern for a rest cure in 1809.[44][45] Chambers, in his book about Malvern, praised Elizabeth, Countess Harcourt (daughter-in-law of the 1st Earl Harcourt), whose patronage contributed to the development of hillside walks.[31]

Bottling and shipping of the Malvern water grew in volume. In 1842, Dr. James Wilson and Dr. James Manby Gully, leading exponents of hydrotherapy, set up clinics in Malvern (Holyrood House for women and Tudor House for men).[46][47] Malvern expanded rapidly as a residential spa.[6]: 127  Several large hotels and many of the large villas date from its heyday. Many smaller hotels and guest houses were built between about 1842 and 1875. By 1855 there were already 95 hotels and boarding houses and by 1865 over a quarter of the town's 800 houses were hospitality venues. Most were in Great Malvern, the town centre, while others were in the surrounding settlements of Malvern Wells, Malvern Link, North Malvern and West Malvern.[6]: 190 [48]

Queen Adelaide visited St. Ann's Well in September 1842.[6]: 183  "Throughout the 1840s and 1850s Malvern attracted a stream of celebrated visitors, including royalty."[46] Patients included Charles Darwin,[49] Catherine, wife of Charles Dickens, [50][51] Thomas Carlyle, Florence Nightingale,[46] Lord Lytton, who was an outspoken advocate of the waters,[52][53] Lord Tennyson and Samuel Wilberforce.[46]

The extension of the railway from Worcester to Malvern Link was completed on 25 May 1859.[54] The following year, "Besides middle class visitors ... the railway also brought working class excursionists from the Black Country with dramatic effect ... At Whitsuntide ... 10,000 came from the Black Country to the newly opened stations at Great Malvern and Malvern Wells.[6]: 191  Throughout June to September, day trips were frequent, causing the "town to be crowded with 'the most curious specimens of the British shopkeeper and artisan on an outing' ".[6]: 191 

Following Malvern's new-found fame as a spa and area of natural beauty, and fully exploiting its new rail connections, factories from as far as Manchester were organising day trips for their employees, often attracting as many as 5,000 visitors a day. In 1865, a public meeting of residents denounced the rising rail fares – by then twice that of other lines – that were exploiting the tourism industry, and demanded a limitation to the number of excursion trains. The arrival of the railway also enabled the delivery of coal in large quantities, which accelerated the area's popularity as a winter resort.[6]: 126 

The 1887 Baedeker's includes Malvern in a London–Worcester–Hereford itinerary and described as "an inland health resort, famous for its bracing air and pleasant situation" and "a great educational centre", with five hotels that are "well spoken of", a commercial hotel, the Assembly Rooms and Gardens, and many excursions on foot, pony and by carriage.[55] Other descriptions of the diversions mention bands, quadrilles, cricket (residents vs visitors) and billiard rooms.[6]: 197 [21] The Duchess of Teck stayed, with her daughter Mary (later queen consort of George V), in Malvern in the Autumn of 1891, joined by Lady Eva Greville. and the Duke of Teck.[56] The Duchess was "perfectly enchanted with Malvern and its surroundings" and, with the Duke, visited Malvern College.[57] The Duchess returned to open the new waterworks at Camp Hill in 1895.[21] In 1897, the painter Edward Burne-Jones came to Malvern for the "bracing air", on the recommendation of his doctor, but stayed in his hotel for a week.[58] The 7-year-old Franklin D. Roosevelt visited in 1889, during a trip to Europe with his parents.[59]

By 1875 encroachment on Malvern's wastelands by landowners had reached new heights and action was taken by the people of Malvern and the Commons Society to preserve the hills and common land and to prevent encroachment. Local lords of the manor indicated that they would like to give their rights to the wastes to the public. After preventing the enclosure of a common in 1882, negotiations were initiated with the owners of the northern hills and the first Malvern Hills Act was secured in parliament in 1884. Later Acts empowered the Malvern Hills Conservators to acquire land to prevent further encroachment on common land and by 1925 they had bought much of the manorial wastelands.[6]: 193 [7]: 247, 248 

Towards the end of the 19th century, the popularity of the hydrotherapy had declined to the extent that many hotels were already being converted into private boarding schools and rest homes, and education became the basis of Malvern's economy.[6]: 195  By 1865, the town already had 17 single-gender private schools, increasing to 25 by 1885. The area was well suited for schools due to its established attractive environment and access by rail. Children could travel unaccompanied with their trunks by rail to their boarding schools near the stations in Great Malvern, Malvern Wells, and Malvern Link. Malvern St James (formerly Malvern Girls College), in a former hotel, opposite Great Malvern railway station, has a tunnel (now derelict) to the basement of the building, which is visible from both platforms of the station.[60]

20th and 21st centuries

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With a continuing strong agricultural presence, Malvern began to develop into a modern town in the early 1900s. The World War II years transformed and increased the population and its activities, establishing the town in 1942 as a centre of defence and scientific research.[7]: 230 . Liquid crystal displays were developed in 1972 in conjunction with the Royal Radar Establishment, where Geoffrey Dummer invented the idea of the integrated circuit in 1952.[61]

At a total length of 163 miles (262 km), the 1960s constructed M5 is the fourth-longest motorway in the UK, with accesses near Malvern by passing Worcester city centre, providing direct routes to the areas of Birmingham and Bristol bringing them into commuter distance.[62] Modern manufacturing and service industries were established in Spring Lane Industrial Estate that was developed in the 1960s and the adjoining Enigma Business Park that was built in the 1990s.[63]

The early 21st century saw further investment in the arts emphasising the town's status as a regional centre for music and theatre.[64]

Due to its long association with health care, provision for Malvern's expanding population was improved with the establishment of modern facilities. In 2006, a group practice of four doctors relocated from their premises in Great Malvern to a purpose-built facility 12,000 patients, to the Enigma Business Park near a large out-of-town retail park[65][66]In 2008 a further purpose-built health centre designed to serve 19,000 patients was constructed on the site of a former public works depot at a cost of £7.5 million. The group practice centre combines two doctor's surgeries formerly located in the Barnards Green and Malvern Link suburbs, and the four former dental practices of the Malvern Dental Access Centre centre.[67]

References

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  1. ↑ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  2. ↑ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
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  9. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Woodman2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Hencken1938 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  14. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Remfry2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Page&Willis-Bund1924 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ↑ Brooks, Alan; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). The Buildings of England: Worcestershire. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 455. ISBN 9780300112986.
  17. ↑ Remfrey, Paul (1998). The Herefordshire Beacon of King Harold II and the Earls of Hereford and Worcester. ukprint.com. ISBN 9781899376735.
  18. ↑ Weaver, Cora (1993). The Priory Gatehouse of Great Malvern. Aldine Press. ISBN 1-873809-06-9.
  19. 1 2 Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. 1 2 3 Cite error: The named reference newadvent was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  24. ↑ Cite error: The named reference stained_glass was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ↑ Cite error: The named reference brooks_and_pevsner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ↑ Cite error: The named reference WRO899.601 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ↑ Cite error: The named reference GuilfordsRegister1283 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ↑ Cite error: The named reference GilbertdeClare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ↑ Cite error: The named reference GodfreyGifford was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Scott2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 Cite error: The named reference Chambers1817 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ↑ Lees, Edwin (1877). The Forest and Chase of Malvern. Transactions of the Malvern Naturalists' Field Club. pp. 16/17.
  33. ↑ Brooks, Alan; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). The Buildings of England: Worcestershire. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 455. ISBN 9780300112986.
  34. 1 2 3 Cite error: The named reference bradley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Lees1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ↑ Cite error: The named reference MalvernHillsAct1884 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Banister was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ↑ Cite error: The named reference eyewell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  39. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Banister1622 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  40. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Wall1763 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  41. ↑ Cite error: The named reference McMenemy1953 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Culbertson1978 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Surgeon1828 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  44. ↑ Cite error: The named reference MalvernWells1791 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Vansittart was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. 1 2 3 4 Cite error: The named reference gullydnb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  47. ↑ Cite error: The named reference GullyBathHouse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  48. ↑ Cite error: The named reference royal_hist_soc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  49. ↑ Cite error: The named reference DarwinOnline was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  50. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Slater2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  51. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Ashton2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  52. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Mitchell2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  53. ↑ Sir E. Bulwer-Lytton, Confessions of a water patient, New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, 75 (3) 16, 1845. Reprinted in Pamphlets and Sketches (1875). London: George Routledge and Sons
  54. ↑ Cite error: The named reference McDermot1964 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  55. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Baedeker1887 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  56. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Cooke1909 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  57. ↑ Cite error: The named reference TheMalvernRegister was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  58. ↑ Cite error: The named reference BurneJones1904 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  59. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Roosevelt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  60. ↑ "Death of a man whose idea went on to change the world forever". Worcester News. 7 September 2002. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  61. ↑ "M5 Widening between Junctions 3 & 8". CIHT. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  62. ↑ Cite error: The named reference EnigmaBiz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  63. ↑ Cite error: The named reference MG23656846 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  64. ↑ "Health centre will serve 8,000". Worcester News. Newsquest Media Group Ltd,. 31 March 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  65. ↑ "Whiteacres Medical Centre". Care Quality Commission. CQC inspection reports. 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  66. ↑ "New medical centre for 19,000". Worcester News. Newsquest Media Group Ltd,. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)

Category:Histories of populated places in England

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