Malvern Wells

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Malvern Wells
Malvern Wells village, Worcestershire, England. August 2011.jpg
Village centre, Malvern Wells
Worcestershire UK location map.svg
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Malvern Wells
Location within Worcestershire
Population3,196 
OS grid reference SO773422
Civil parish
  • Malvern Wells
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town MALVERN
Postcode district WR14
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire
52°04′43″N2°19′56″W / 52.078479°N 2.332357°W / 52.078479; -2.332357 Coordinates: 52°04′43″N2°19′56″W / 52.078479°N 2.332357°W / 52.078479; -2.332357

Malvern Wells is a village and civil parish south of Great Malvern in the Malvern Hills district of Worcestershire, England. The parish, once known as South Malvern, was formed in 1894 from parts of the civil parishes of Hanley Castle, Welland, and the former parish of Great Malvern, and owes its development to the 19th-century boom years of Malvern as a spa town. Malvern Wells is a centre of commercial bottling of Malvern water. The population of the parishes of Malvern Wells and Little Malvern was recorded in 2011 as 3,196. [1]

Contents

Location

Malvern Wells lies on the eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills south of Great Malvern (the town centre of Malvern) and north of Little Malvern. It takes its name from the Malvern water issuing from springs on the hills, principally from the Holy Well and the Eye Well. [2] The northern end of the parish includes the Wyche Cutting, the historic salt route pass through the hills, which form the border between the counties of Herefordshire (on the western side) and Worcestershire. The actual cutting through the granite hill face is at a height of 856 feet above sea level.

The northern part of the parish includes the "Fruitlands" housing estate. In the southern part of the parish is the settlement of Upper Welland and in the western part the settlements of Upper Wyche and Lower Wyche. To the east of the village of Malvern Wells and also in the parish is the Three Counties Showground.

History

Wells

The Holy Well, Malvern Wells, a location of a Malvern Water bottling plant. The Holy Well - geograph.org.uk - 787818.jpg
The Holy Well, Malvern Wells, a location of a Malvern Water bottling plant.

In 1558 Queen Elizabeth I granted the land to John Hornyold, lord of the manor, under the premise that any pilgrim or traveller should be able to draw rest and refreshment from the Holy Well, a covenant which still stands today. The first record of spring water being bottled in the UK is from 1622, at Holy Well. [3] Holy Well was later used by the Schweppes Company as the source for bottled Malvern Water sold at the Great Exhibition of 1851. [4]

Railway history

Malvern Wells railway station, as part of the Worcester and Hereford Railway (which became part of the West Midland Railway then the Great Western Railway), opened on 25 May 1860, then closed again on 19 January 1861 before reopening 1 February 1864. It was closed finally on 5 April 1965. [5]

Previously served by Malvern Hanley Road railway station on the Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway was a branch of the Midland Railway which ran from Ashchurch via Tewkesbury to Great Malvern. This opened on 16 May 1864. With the regrouping in 1923, it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The section from Malvern to Upton-upon-Severn was closed in December 1952. The remainder closed to passengers on 14 August 1961. Freight continued to be carried to Upton until July 1963 and to Tewkesbury until December 1964. [6]

All Saints

All Saints, the parish church, was built by a local builder, William Porter, to a design by Troyte Griffith – a friend of Edward Elgar who is depicted in the "Enigma Variations". The church was consecrated on 19 November 1903. There is evidence to suggest[ citation needed ] that Elgar composed part of the "Enigma Variations" in the church, but his offer of the original manuscript of his oratorio "The Apostles", as a gift to the church, was refused by the Anglican church authorities because Elgar was a Roman Catholic and the oratorio was heavily based in that tradition. Next to the church is the Wyche School; "Land of Hope and Glory", set to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, was first performed there in the presence of Elgar. In later life Elgar came to tire of the work for "its jingoism and the fact it overshadowed everything else he wrote." [7]

Amenities

The Malvern Wells War Memorial honours local people killed and injured in the First and Second World Wars. It was designed by the Arts and Crafts architect and designer C. F. A. Voysey, and was unveiled in 1920. [8] The village has a petrol station, a convenience store, a post office and several other small businesses.[ citation needed ]

Education

Abbey College, a secondary school and English language centre mainly for international students, is found at 253 Wells Road. Primary education is provided by Malvern Wells Church of England School and the Wyche Church of England School, which feed the two Malvern secondary schools of The Chase in Barnards Green, and Dyson Perrins in Malvern Link. [9] Wells House School, a preparatory school for boys, closed in 1991. [10]

Transport

The nearer of the two Malvern railway stations to the village is Great Malvern on the Worcester to Hereford line. It has services to Birmingham and to London Paddington station. The village is served by a daily long-distance coach service between Worcester and London Victoria. [11] There are regular bus links with Great Malvern and Malvern Link. [12]

Notable people

In birth order:

Related Research Articles

Malvern Hills Mountain range in England

The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit of the hills affords a panorama of the Severn Valley with the hills of Herefordshire and the Welsh mountains, parts of thirteen counties, the Bristol Channel, and the cathedrals of Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford.

Malvern, Worcestershire Spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England

Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. 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.

Upton-upon-Severn Human settlement in England

Upton-upon-Severn is a small town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. The 2011 census recorded a population of 2,881, making it the smallest town in the county.

Malvern Hills District Non-metropolitan district in England

Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Malvern, and its area covers most of the western half of the county, including the small towns of Tenbury and Upton. It was originally formed in 1974 and was subject to a significant boundary reform in 1998. In the 2011 census the population of the Malvern Hills district was 74,631.

Great Malvern Human settlement in England

Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and is the historic centre of Malvern and includes its town centre.

Malvern Link Human settlement in England

Malvern Link is an area of Malvern, Worcestershire, England to the north and east of Great Malvern. The centres of Malvern Link and Great Malvern are separated by Link Common, an area of open land that is statutorily protected by the Malvern Hills Conservators. In 1900 Malvern Link Urban District, which had been formed only five years earlier, merged with Great Malvern to become Malvern Town. The population of Link in 2011 was 6,155.

North Malvern Human settlement in England

North Malvern is a suburb of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It nestles on the northern slopes of the Malvern Hills. It is a contiguous urban extension of Link Top, and other neighbouring centres of population are Great Malvern, Malvern Link, West Malvern and the former village of Cowleigh. It is part of the civil parish of Malvern, administered by the Malvern Hills District, and is included in the informal region known as The Malverns.

Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station Railway station in Gloucestershire, England

Ashchurch for Tewkesbury is a railway station serving the North Gloucestershire and South Worcestershire Area from the outskirts of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, England. The station is located less than 1⁄4 mile (400 m) from junction 9 of the M5 motorway and located on the main Bristol–Birmingham main line 7 1⁄4 miles (11.7 km) north of Cheltenham Spa and was opened on 1 June 1997 by Railtrack. There are regular bus connections from the station to Tewkesbury town centre, which is located two miles to the west. Apart from a few peak journeys on service 41/42, there are no bus connections in the opposite direction from Tewkesbury to Ashchurch.

Colwall Human settlement in England

Colwall is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated on the border with Worcestershire, nestling on the western side of the Malvern Hills at the heart of the AONB. Areas of the village are known as Colwall Stone, Upper Colwall which shares a common border at the Wyche Cutting with the Malvern suburb of Malvern Wells, and Colwall Green, spread along 2 miles (3.2 km) of the B4218 road, with the historic village core being 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Colwall Stone.

Ashchurch Human settlement in England

Ashchurch is a village in the Tewkesbury district of Gloucestershire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the town of Tewkesbury. The village and housing and industrial estates run directly into Tewkesbury itself to the west: Tewkesbury School, and a number of factories whose postal addresses read Tewkesbury were actually in Ashchurch. The village is served by bus service 41 towards Tewkesbury and Cheltenham which operares every 20 minutes Mon-Sat daytime.

Little Malvern Human settlement in England

Little Malvern is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as The Malverns. Little Malvern shares a parish council with Welland, with 2 of the 11 councillors.

Hanley Castle Human settlement in England

Hanley Castle is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, between the towns of Malvern and Upton upon Severn and a short distance from the River Severn. It lies in the administrative area of Malvern Hills District, and is part of the informal region known as The Malverns. It is served by bus service 332 Worcester - Upton upon Severn - Hanley Castle operated by Aston Coaches.

Great Malvern railway station Grade II listed station in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England

Great Malvern railway station is one of two stations serving the town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England on the Hereford to Worcester section of the Cotswold Line. It is situated downhill from the centre of Great Malvern and close to Barnards Green. The station retains most of its original Victorian station design by the architect Edmund Wallace Elmslie and is a Grade II listed building.

Malvern Wells railway station was a station on the Worcester and Hereford section of the Great Western Railway at Lower Wyche, between Great Malvern and Colwall. On timetables it was listed as Malvern Wells GW to distinguish it from the nearby Midland Railway station which later became known as Malvern Hanley Road.

Upton-on-Severn railway station Former railway station in Worcestershire, England

Upton-on-Severn railway station was a railway station serving Upton-on-Severn in the English county of Worcestershire. It was opened by the Midland Railway's Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway between Great Malvern and Ashchurch.

Ripple, Worcestershire Human settlement in England

Ripple is a village and civil parish in the county of Worcestershire, England. Ripple is one of the most southerly parishes in the county and is situated on the A38 road with the River Severn as its western boundary. Together with the villages and hamlets of Ryall, Holly Green, The Grove, Naunton, and Uckinghall, the parish has a combined population of 1,799.

The Worcester and Hereford Railway started the construction of a standard gauge railway between the two cities in 1858. It had needed the financial assistance of larger concerns, chiefly the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, and the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. It opened its line progressively from 1859 to 1861, delayed by exceptionally difficult tunnelling at Colwall and Ledbury. The company was purchased by the West Midland Railway in 1860, and that company amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1863.

Among the places of worship in the town and area of Malvern, Worcestershire are centres of dedication to many faiths and denominations. The town has 31 Christian churches with 11 belonging to the Church of England, ranging from low church to high Anglo-Catholic, two Roman Catholic, one Evangelical, and the others being Non-Conformist and other faiths. Its oldest place of worship is Great Malvern Priory which is all that remains of the former 10th century abbey of which according to the Worcester Monastic Annals, work began in 1085. The chain of Malvern Hills lies in a north-south direction, thus posing a challenge for the architects of Christian churches located on the steep slopes, chancels being traditionally sited at the east end of the building. Many churches were built in the 19th century concomitant with the rapid expansion of the town due to its popularity as a spa. A few modern buildings such as St Mary's Church (1960) in Sherrard's Green, have been constructed in the second half of the 20th century, and some churches, notably St Andrews in Poolbrook, have had important modern extensions added during the first decade of the 21st century.

Link Top Human settlement in England

Link Top is a locality of Malvern Link, a major population area of the town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is situated at the western extremity of Malvern Link at its boundary with Great Malvern and North Malvern. It is centred on a sharp left hand bend in the Worcester Road (A449) that forms a complex junction with the North Malvern Road, Hornyold Road, Newtown Road, and Lygon Bank,

Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway

The Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway was a branch of the Midland Railway which ran from Ashchurch via Tewkesbury to Great Malvern in the United Kingdom. It was opened on 16 May 1864. At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway.

References

  1. ↑ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Malvern Wells Parish (1170219483)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  2. ↑ Malvern Wells PC – wells Retrieved 14 October 2009
  3. ↑ Smart, Mike (2009), The Malvern Hills, London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, p. 17, ISBN   978-0-7112-2915-0
  4. ↑ Official Malvern Water brochure, Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (2009)
  5. ↑ Butt, R. V. J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens.
  6. ↑ "Upton upon Severn – The Railway Station". www.Upton.uk.net. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  7. ↑ Bateman, Anthony (25 June 2015). "'Repugnant', 'uninspired' and 'awful' - works hated by their own composers" . Retrieved 29 April 2019– via www.TheGuardian.com.
  8. ↑ "Malvern Wells - WW1 and WW2". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  9. ↑ Malvern Wells PC – education Archived 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Wells House School, Malvern: Schools in Malvern". Schooletc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  11. ↑ Timetable Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Timetable, e. g. Retrieved 14 February 2016. [ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ ODNB entry on Chatterton, Henrietta Georgiana Marcia Lascelles. Retrieved 13 November 2012. Pay-walled.
  14. ↑ Collett, Pauline (1981). Elgar lived here. London: Thames Publishing. p. 49. ISBN   0-905210-14-X.
  15. ↑ The Independent Retrieved 14 February 2016.
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