West Malvern is a village and a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

on the west side of the north part of the

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are 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 affo ...

, on the western edge of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, England. It has become effectively a suburb of

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

and part of an urban area often called ''The Malverns'', locally administered by

Malvern Hills District Council Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

and its own parish council. Its altitude up to 250 metres gives West Malvern panoramic views of the

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

countryside to the west. The Church of St James, built in 1840, has an adjacent

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

primary school. The churchyard includes the grave of

Peter Mark Roget Peter Mark Roget ( ; 18 January 1779 – 12 September 1869) was a British physician, natural theologian, lexicographer and founding secretary of The Portico Library. He is best known for publishing, in 1852, the '' Thesaurus of English Words ...

, author of ''

Roget's Thesaurus ''Roget's Thesaurus'' is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer. History It was released to the public on 29 April 1852. Roget was i ...

'', who died while on holiday in the village. The 2011 Census population of 1,385 was estimated at 1,263 in 2019.

Culture

Since 2005 West Malvern has hosted an annual one-day

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

West Fest. In years when West Fest makes a profit the committee distributes grants "to support community action, cultural development, training or to meet special needs." From the profits of West Fest 2008 "a total of £7,150 was distributed" in the Malvern Hills area to 2nd Malvern Link Brownies,

the Theatre of Small Convenience The Theatre of Small Convenience was a theatre in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. In 2002 it entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's smallest commercial theatre, seating up to 12 people. It is less than half the size of the ...

, West Malvern Sean Éireann McMahon Academy (Irish dancing), West Malvern Cricket Club, Malvern Mencap, St James Primary School, Leapfrogs Playgroup, and Malvern Access Group. There has also been a regular weekly acoustic music session in the village each Sunday evening since 1996. On 20–22 August 2010 a visual arts festival was held in the village, in support of the Malvern Hills Community Foundation, in a variety of venues including the

Regents Theological College Regents Theological College is a theological college in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is the training centre of the Elim Pentecostal Church. First called Elim Bible College, it was founded in 1925 by the evangelist George Jeffreys, also ...

, St James's Church, St James Primary School, and the Brewers Arms pub. Local garages, gazebos, and even garden walls and railings were also used to display artworks. The event, which is intended to become annual, was modelled on a similar arts festival at

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It lies on the river Sarthe from Alençon, the chef-lieu of the department, and some west of Paris. History The place is named for Serenicus (or ''Generi ...

in Normandy, France.

Landmarks

The Malvern Hills area is well known for its Malvern water and there are several springs and wells in West Malvern including Westminster Bank Spout, St James Churchyard Basin, West Malvern Tap, Hayslad, Royal Well, and Ryland's Well and St Thomas' Well. There were quarries around West Malvern including Dingle and several more. Hayslad Spout, West Malvern.jpg, Hayslad Spout after a well dressing festival

Transport

Rail

The nearest railway stations are

Malvern Link 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 Malver ...

(for the northern end of the parish) and

Colwall 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 sha ...

(for the southern end), both on the

Cotswold Line The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England. History Early years The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. ...

between

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Bus

Local bus services connect West Malvern with the surrounding area.Local transport. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
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References

External links

West Malvern Parish CouncilWest Malvern Hall and VillageVision of Britain Historical recordHistorical photos of West Malvern quarriesWest Malvern Village web site
{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire Civil parishes in Worcestershire