Malvern is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

and

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 authorit ...

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 H ...

, England. It lies at the foot 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 aff ...

, a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. 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. At the 2011 census it had a population of 29,626. It includes Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the

, as well as the former independent urban district of

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 ...

. Many of the major suburbs and settlements that comprise the town are separated by large tracts of open

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

and fields, and together with smaller civil parishes adjoining the town's boundaries and the hills, the built up area is often referred to collectively as The Malverns. Archaeological evidence suggests that

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

people had settled in the area around 1000 BC, although it is not known whether these settlements were permanent or temporary. 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. During the 19th century Malvern developed rapidly from a village to a sprawling conurbation owing to its popularity as a

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term ...

spa based on its spring waters. 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. A further major expansion was the result of the relocation of the

Telecommunications Research Establishment The Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) was the main United Kingdom research and development organization for radio navigation, radar, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the Royal Air Force (RAF) ...

(TRE) to Malvern in 1942. QinetiQ, TRE's successor company, remained the town's largest local employer in 2009. Malvern is the largest place in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of West Worcestershire and the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

, being also the district's administrative seat. It lies adjacent to the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The civil parish is governed by Malvern Town Council from its offices in Great Malvern.

Toponymy

The name Malvern is derived from the ancient British or old Welsh ''moel-bryn'', meaning "Bare or Bald Hill", the modern equivalent being the Welsh ''moelfryn'' (bald hill). It has been known as Malferna (11th century), Malverne (12th century), and Much Malvern (16–17th century).

History

Bronze Age to monastic times

Flint axes, arrowheads, and flakes found in the area are attributed to early

settlers, 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. The Wyche Cutting, a pass through the hills, was in use in prehistoric times as part of the salt route from

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. The ...

to South Wales. 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. Ancient folklore has it that the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

chieftain Caractacus made his last stand against the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

at the

British Camp British Camp is an Iron Age hill fort located at the top of Herefordshire Beacon in the Malvern Hills. The hill fort is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is owned and maintained by Malvern Hills Conservators. The fort is thought to h ...

, 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 Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

implies a site closer to the river Severn. There is therefore no evidence that Roman presence ended the prehistoric settlement at British Camp. However, excavations at nearby Midsummer Hill fort,

Bredon Hill Bredon Hill is a hill in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham in the Vale of Evesham. The summit of the hill is in the parish of Kemerton, and it extends over parts of eight other parishes (listed below). The hill is geologically par ...

, 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. 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". A pottery industry based on the Malverns left remains dating from the Late Bronze Age to the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, shown by methods of archaeological petrology. Via the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, products were traded as far as South Wales. The Longdon and other marshes at the foot of

Malvern Chase Malvern Chase was a royal chase that occupied the land between the Malvern Hills and the River Severn in Worcestershire and extended to Herefordshire from the River Teme to Cors Forest. The following parishes and hamlets were within the Chase ...

were grazed by cattle. "Woodland management was considerable", providing fuel for the kilns.

Monastic Malvern

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". The additions to

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coles ...

's ''Monasticon'' include an extract from the Pleas taken before the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

at York in 1387, stating that there was a congregation of hermits at Malvern "some time before the conquest". Although a Malvern priory existed before the

, it is the settlement of nearby

Little Malvern 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' ...

, the site of another, smaller priory, that is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

. A

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy t ...

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 Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

of Hereford. It was destroyed by King Henry II in 1155. The town developed around its 11th-century priory, a

Benedictine monastery , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

, of which only the large

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

and the abbey gateway remain. 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. St Werstan's oratory is thought to have been on the site of

St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, which is believed to have stood on the site of Bello Sguardo, a Victorian

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

, 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 An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

, human bones, and parts of a coffin. Although the legend may be monastic mythology, historians have however concluded that St. Werstan was the original martyr. Malvern Abbey Gateway

The first prior, Aldwyn, founded the monastery on his bishop's advice, and by 1135 the monastery included thirty monks. Aldwyn was succeeded by

Walcher of Malvern Walcher of Malvern (died 1135) (also known as Walcher of Lorraine) was the second Prior of Great Malvern Priory in Worcestershire, England, and a noted astronomer, astrologer and mathematician. He has been described as an important transitional f ...

, an astronomer and philosopher from

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

in France, whose gravestone inside the priory church records details that the priory arose in 1085 from a hermitage endowed by Edward the Confessor. An ancient stained glass window 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. An 18th-century document states that in the 18th year of the reign of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

(probably 1083), a priory was dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. ''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.)". 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 Humphrey (VI) de Bohun (c. 1249 – 31 December 1298), 3rd Earl of Hereford and 2nd Earl of Essex, was an English nobleman known primarily for his opposition to King Edward I over the ''Confirmatio Cartarum.''Fritze and Robison, (2002). ...

that Edward resolved. Nott states that Gilbert made gifts to the Priory, and describes his "great conflict" with

Thomas de Cantilupe Thomas de Cantilupe (25 August 1282; also spelled ''Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe'', Latinised to ''de Cantilupo'') was Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford. He was canonised in 1320 by Pope John XXII. Origins Thomas was the third ...

, 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 Godfrey Giffard ( 12351302) was Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Worcester. Early life Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,Worcester Cathedral (and formerly

Chancellor of England The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

). Godfrey, who had granted land to the Priory, had jurisdictional disputes about Malvern Priory, resolved by Robert Burnell, the current Chancellor. 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 Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catho ...

knight

Sir John Oldcastle ''Sir John Oldcastle'' is an Elizabethan play about John Oldcastle, a controversial 14th-/15th-century rebel and Lollard who was seen by some of Shakespeare's contemporaries as a proto-Protestant martyr. Publication The play was originally p ...

in 1414. Chambers wrote, in relation to the stained glass, "the situation of Malvern was so much admired by Henry VII, his Queen (

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which mark ...

) and their two Sons, Prince Arthur, and Prince Henry" that they made substantial endowments. As a

Royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

, 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.

Post dissolution

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. The monastic buildings were taken apart and anything usable was sold off. With the exception of the church building (of which the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

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 The Malvern Museum in Great Malvern, the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire, England, is located in the Priory Gatehouse, the former gateway to the Great Malvern Priory. The museum was established in 1979 and is owned and managed by the Malve ...

. The contemporary antiquary John Leland described the Malvern Hills and Hanley Castle. An Elizabethan land grant of 1558 mentions Holy Well. 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 Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

. 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 A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

. 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. In 1633, the

Court of Exchequer Chamber The Court of Exchequer Chamber was an English appellate court for common law civil actions before the reforms of the Judicature Acts of 1873–1875. It originated in the fourteenth century, established in its final form by a statute of 1585. The ...

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 of 1884). By that time, Malvern had become an established community and the major settlement in the Malvern Chase.

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

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. According to legend, the curative benefit of the spring water was known in mediaeval times. 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". The occulist

Richard Banister Richard Banister (died 1626), was an English oculist of Stamford, Lincolnshire. He was educated under his relative, John Banister, the surgeon. He devoted himself especially to certain branches of surgery, such as 'the help of hearing by the ins ...

wrote about the ''Eye Well'', close to the ''

Holy Well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...

'', in a short poem in his ''Breviary of the Eyes'' (see Malvern water), in 1622. 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. Further praise came from the botanist

Benjamin Stillingfleet Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702–1771) was an English botanist, polymath, and author. Life Benjamin Stillingfleet was born in 1702 in Wood Norton, Norfolk to Mary Ann and Edward Stillingfleet. He was one of four children, and the only son.I. D ...

in 1757, the poet

Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead. He is sometimes called ''Thomas Warton the younger'' to disti ...

in 1790, and William Addison, the physician of the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

(mother of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

) in 1828, all quoted in a review by the medical historian W.H. McMenemy. 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". Similar views appeared in the press, Nicholas Vansittart brought his wife Catherine to Malvern for a rest cure in 1809. 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. Bottling and shipping of the Malvern water grew in volume. In 1842, Dr. James Wilson and Dr. James Manby Gully, leading exponents of

, set up clinics in Malvern (Holyrood House for women and Tudor House for men). Malvern expanded rapidly as a residential spa. 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,

, North Malvern and

West Malvern West Malvern is a village and a civil parish on the west side of the north part of the Malvern Hills, on the western edge of Worcestershire, England. It has become effectively a suburb of Malvern and part of an urban area often called ''The Malv ...

Queen Adelaide , house = Saxe-Meiningen , father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy ...

visited St. Ann's Well in September 1842. "Throughout the 1840s and 1850s Malvern attracted a stream of celebrated visitors, including royalty." Patients included

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

, Catherine, wife of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, i ...

, Lord Lytton, who was an outspoken advocate of the waters,

Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

and

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day. Natural ...

. The extension of the railway from Worcester to Malvern Link was completed on 25 May 1859. 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. 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' ". 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 Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

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. The 1887

Baedeker Verlag Karl Baedeker, founded by Karl Baedeker on July 1, 1827, is a German publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred to simply as " Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to refer to similar works fro ...

'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. Other descriptions of the diversions mention bands, quadrilles, cricket (residents ''vs'' visitors) and billiard rooms. The Duchess of Teck stayed, with her daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(later queen consort of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

), in Malvern in the Autumn of 1891, joined by Lady Eva Greville. and the Duke of Teck. The Duchess was "perfectly enchanted with Malvern and its surroundings" and, with the Duke, visited Malvern College. The Duchess returned to open the new waterworks at Camp Hill in 1895. In 1897, the painter

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

came to Malvern for the "bracing air", on the recommendation of his doctor, but stayed in his hotel for a week. The 7-year-old

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

visited in 1889, during a trip to Europe with his parents. 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 The Malvern Hills Conservators are a body corporate responsible for the care and management of the Malvern Hills and Commons. They were established in 1884 and are governed by five Acts of Parliament, the Malvern Hills Acts 1884, 1909, 1924, 19 ...

to acquire land to prevent further encroachment on common land and by 1925 they had bought much of the manorial wastelands. 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. 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 Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, has a tunnel (now derelict) to the basement of the building, which is visible from both platforms of the station.

20th century

Malvern began to develop into a modern town in the early 1900s, with a continuing strong agricultural presence. Modernisation continued, and the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

years transformed the population and its activities, establishing the town as a centre of scientific research.

Governance

Malvern is a town and civil parish governed at the lowest tier of local government by Malvern Town Council, part of the Malvern Hills District of the County of Worcestershire (a district comprising 68 civil parishes and 22 electoral wards). The ward boundaries were redefined from the wards of the former Malvern Urban District Council (1900–1974). Through the many changes in local government infrastructure since the beginning of the 20th century, the importance and distinction by local boundaries of the historical areas of Great Malvern, Malvern Link, North Malvern, Cowleigh, and other neighbourhoods, have been lost. The original parish of Great Malvern included the hamlet of Guarlford and the chapelry of Newland, and stretched from the River Severn on the east to the Malvern Hills on the west. Guarlford became a separate civil parish in 1894 when, under the Local Government Act of 1894, urban district councils were created for Malvern and Malvern Link. The Guarlford parish covered much of eastern Malvern, including parts of Great Malvern, Pickersleigh, Poolbrook, Barnards Green, Hall Green and Sherrard's Green. By 1900 however, the urban districts of Malvern and Malvern Link amalgamated, absorbing parts of neighbouring parishes to create a town of six wards under the Malvern Urban District Council. In 1934 the boundaries changed again, and those areas came under the control of the Malvern council. Residents of Malvern Town in the six Malvern Town Council electoral wards are represented by 15 elected members. The council is supported by a team of senior executives that includes a Town Clerk, a Deputy Town Clerk, a PA to the Town Clerk and chairman, an Operations and Events Officer, a Finance Officer, two Operations Managers, an Operations Supervisor, and eight Grounds Maintenance Operatives. The wards are based on the distribution of the population and generally ignore the names of the neighbourhoods and suburbs they contain, and use loaned names: * Chase — named after

— covering much of the adjacent town centre suburb Barnards Green, the extensive Ministry of Defence property occupied by QinetiQ, the campus of The Chase School, the village of Poolbrook, and the largely rural south-eastern area of the adjoining Poolbrook and Malvern commons. * Dyson Perrins, the northern part of Malvern adjacent to Link with the campus of Dyson Perrins School and the former MoD DERA North Site, and the former hamlets of Interfield, Halfkey, and Upper Howsell; this ward includes a new neighbourhood of the town — Malvern Vale. * Link, that covers most of the area north of the Link Common from Link Top, through Malvern Link to Newland, and Upper and Lower Howsell. * North Malvern - West Malvern, Served by West Malvern Road, an area immediately west of the range of hills between Link Top and West Malvern civil parish that includes the former village of Cowleigh. * Pickersleigh, that includes the part of the former Great Malvern boundaries east of the railway between Barnards Green and Malvern Link to Madresfield, the former hamlets of Hall Green and Sherrards Green, and part of Barnards Green. * Priory, covering much of Great Malvern, including all the town centre, and otherwise areas west of the railway between North Malvern and Malvern Wells civil parish.

Geography

Town centre

The town centre comprises two main streets at right angles to each other: the steep Church Street and Bellevue Terrace, a relatively flat north–south extension of the A449 which forms Malvern's western extremity along the flank of the hills. Among the many shops are two large modern supermarkets, both in Edith Walk, formerly a steep and unmade lane that served the rear entrances of the shops in Church Street. Many of the traditional high street shops such as butchers, bakers, grocers etc., are now health food shops, art and craft shops, charity shops, law firms, and estate agents. The offices of Malvern Town Council, the

, The Malvern Hills AONB Partnership, and Malvern Hills District Council are in the town centre. The town's amenities include the Malvern Theatres complex, the Priory Park, the Splash leisure and swimming complex, the main library, the police station, the tourist information centre, and the museum. In the heart of the town is a statue of the composer Edward Elgar, while other statuary is dedicated to Malvern water. Great Malvern station, a

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

example of classical Victorian railway architecture, is close to the nearby former Imperial Hotel by the same architect, E. W. Elmslie.

Suburbs and neighbourhoods

Malvern's rapid urbanisation during the latter half of the 19th century spread eastwards and northwards from Great Malvern, the traditional town centre on the steep flank of the Worcestershire Beacon, and engulfed the manors and farms in the immediate area. It was often the farms, such as Pickersleigh (now known as Pickersleigh Court and previously known as Pickersleigh House), near Great Malvern, and the Howsells in Malvern Link which merged with Great Malvern in 1900 that gave their names to many of the new neighbourhoods. The urban agglomeration continued to spread, and by the middle of the 20th century had reached the suburban parishes of West Malvern, Malvern Wells, Newland, Madresfield, and Guarlford.

Climate

Malvern lies in the Lower Severn/Avon plain affording it a degree of shelter caused by virtue of its nestling in between the Cotswold hills to the east, the Welsh Hills and Mountains to the west, and Birmingham plateau to the north. Although as with all the British Isles it has a maritime climate, the local topography means summer warmth can become emphasised by a slight foehn effect off the surrounding hills. The record maximum stands at 35.8c(96.4f) set in August 1990. Typically 17.3 days of the year will reach 25.1c(77.2f) or higher and the annual warmest day should reach 29.8c(85.6f) according to the 1971–00 observing period. Winter temperature inversions can also occur given the correct conditions allowing very low minima to occur. Nonetheless, on average the region is one of the warmest non-coastal areas in the UK, with overall night time minima in particular rivalling more urban areas. Indeed, despite the notable low absolute minima (several weather-observing sites nearby having fallen below −20 °C in the past) the annual average frost ratio is a mere 33 days per year (1971–00), actually lower than more urbanised weather station locations such as London's Heathrow Airport. A new absolute minimum of −19.5 °C (−3.1 °F) was recently set during the record cold month December 2010. Prior to this the coldest nights were recorded in the winter of 1981/82; -18.1 °C (−0.6 °F) in December 1981, −18.0 °C (−0.4 °F) in January 1982. The sunniest year was 2003, when 1776 hours of sunshine were recorded. Rainfall averages around 740mm per year with over 1 mm being recorded on 123 days of the year. Snowfall is highly variable. When winter low pressure systems move from south-west to north-east the Malvern area is often on the northern flank, meaning heavy snowfall while areas further south and east receive rain or no precipitation at all. However, when snowfall arrives by means of convective showers driven by northerly, north–westerly or north–easterly winds the area tends to be one of the least snowy parts of the UK, owing to its sheltered positioning.

Demography

At the 2011 UK census, the civil parish of Malvern had a population of 29,626. Together with the neighbouring parishes of West Malvern, Malvern Wells, Little Malvern and Newland (the settlements of which largely unite with that of Malvern) the population of the wider "Malverns" urban area is 34,517 (as of 2011). For the purposes of statistical reporting the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...

groups the population of the North Malvern ward of the Malvern civil parish with that of the West Malvern civil parish. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. The average household size was 2.4. Of those aged 16–74 in Malvern, 48.1% had no academic qualifications or one

General Certificate of Secondary Education The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

(GCSE), above the figures for all of the Malvern Hills local government district (39.7%) and England (45.5%). According to the census, 2.3% were unemployed and 35.0% were economically inactive. 19.7% of the population were under the age of 16 and 11.5% were aged 75 and over; the mean age of the people of the civil parish was 41.5. 66.8% of residents described their health as "good", similar to the average of 69.1% for the wider district.

Ethnicity

The 2011 census found the White British ethnic group to be by far the largest in Malvern with 93.2% identifying as such. The next largest ethnic group was White Other, which accounted for 3.2% of the population, followed by the Asian and Mixed Race categories, which made up 1.9% and 1.2% respectively. Black ethnic groups made up 0.3% and the Other group constituted 0.2% of the population.

Population development

The area remained a village and cluster of manors and farms until "taking of the water" in Malvern became popularised by Dr. Wall in 1756. By the 1820s the Baths and the Pump Room were opened; in 1842 Drs. James Wilson and James Manby Gully opened up water cure establishments in the town centre. By the middle of the 19th century, with the arrival of the railway, bath houses and other establishments catering for the health tourists flourished. By the early 20th century Malvern had developed from a small village centred on its priory to a town with many large hotels and Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

country villas. Malvern's population grew in 1942 when the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) moved to Malvern, bringing 2,500 employees, increasing to around 3,500 by 1945. In the early 1950s, several large

housing estates A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

were built in Malvern by the government to provide accommodation for the staff and their families. A significant proportion of the current population of Malvern are present and former employees of the facility (now called QinetiQ), and its previously attached military contingent from REME and other units of all three British armed forces. Malvern had already become an overspill for the nearby city of Worcester, and the new motorways constructed in the early 1960s brought the industrial Midlands within commuting distance by car. With this development came the construction of large private housing developments. The town continues to swell as increasingly more farmland, especially in the Malvern Link area between the villages of Guarlford and Newland, is turned over to housing projects creating new communities and suburbs. Due to frequent merging of parishes and changes in boundaries, accurate figures based on specific areas are not available.

Economy

Research and development

Since 1942 research and development into defence physics and electronics has been the major source of employment in Malvern when during World War II the

(TRE) moved from

Worth Matravers Worth Matravers () is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The village is situated on the cliffs west of Swanage. It comprises limestone cottages and farm houses and is built around a pond, which is a regular feature on pos ...

on the south coast for safety from enemy action. The Radar Research and Development Establishment (RRDE) was moved to Malvern at the same time. Initially, TRE was housed at Malvern College. TRE was the main United Kingdom research and development organization for

radio navigation Radio navigation or radionavigation is the application of radio frequencies to determine a position of an object on the Earth, either the vessel or an obstruction. Like radiolocation, it is a type of radiodetermination. The basic principles a ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) during

and the years that followed. It was regarded as "the most brilliant and successful of the English wartime research establishments" under "Rowe, who saw more of the English scientific choices between 1935 and 1945 than any single man." TRE and RRDE merged in 1953 to form the Radar Research Establishment (RRE) to be further renamed Royal Radar Establishment (also RRE) in 1955. In 2001 when the facility was partly transferred from public to private ownership and became QinetiQ. The Dstl, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has since closed down with the remaining staff moving to other Dstl sites. With the recognised science and technology developments in the Malvern area, Malvern Hills Science Park was built in 1999, and is now home to over 30 science and technological businesses, including, UTC Aerospace Systems (formerly

Goodrich Corporation The Goodrich Corporation, formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, was an American manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Benjamin Goodrich, the company name was cha ...

), and Textlocal.

Manufacturing

Other manufacturing and service industries are mainly grouped in the Spring Lane Industrial Estate that was developed in the 1960s and the adjoining Enigma Business Park that was begun in the 1990s. Pipe organs have been built in Malvern since 1841 by Nicholson Organs. Nicholson organs can be found in Gloucester and Portsmouth Cathedrals, and Great Malvern Priory. Cars have been constructed in Malvern since 1894 by Santler (Britains first petrol car) and 1910 by the

Morgan Motor Company The Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer owned by Italian investment group Investindustrial. It was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan. Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, and employs a ...

, one of the world's longest-existing private constructors of automobiles produced in series. The Morgan Motor Car is a traditional

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

roadster and over the years has become a 'cult' vehicle, exported all over the world from the factory in Malvern Link. Specialist glass tubing and microscope slides are produced by

Chance Brothers Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology. The Chance fam ...

in their factory in Malvern next door to the Morgan Motor works.

Agriculture and horticulture

Malvern is a centre for agricultural industry. The Three Counties Showground, operated by the Three Counties Agricultural Society, is a few miles to the south of Malvern on the road to

Upton upon Severn Upton-upon-Severn (or Upton on Severn, etc. and locally simply Upton) is a town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Lying on the A4104 (formerly A440), the 2011 census recorded a population of 2,881 for the ...

. It has been the permanent venue for the Royal Three Counties Show, held each year in June, since 1958. Representing the counties of

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 Monmouthsh ...

and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, it is one of the most important

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

s in the UK, and can be traced back to 1797. It attracts an average of 93,000 visitors over its three-day event, and the event almost doubles the town's local population. The showground also hosts the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Spring Gardening Show, followed by many other events throughout the year including other regular gardening shows. The ''

Lobelia ''Lobelia'' () is a genus of flowering plants comprising 415 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions.Huxley, A., ed. (1992 ...

'' pioneers William Crump and Dr. Brent Elliott worked in Malvern and were awarded the

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

of the Royal Horticultural Society. A tea rose was named for the Malvern rose grower Mrs. Foley Hobbs in 1910 (see page 119 of cited work). Aswell as agricultural and horicultural shows, the showground holds regular antique and flea markets throughout the year. These have become some of the largest in the UK, attracting thousands of vistors each year.

Culture

Architecture

The town centre and its environs contain many examples of

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, Victorian and

villas and hotels. Many of the houses were built during the Industrial Revolution and Malvern's boom years as a spa town by wealthy families from the nearby Birmingham area. Following the collapse of the spa industry, many of the hotels and villas became schools, and some have since been further converted to apartments, while some of the smaller hotels are now retirement homes. The Imperial Hotel in red brick with stone dressings, which later became a school, is one of the largest buildings in Malvern. It was built in 1860 by the architect E. W. Elmslie who also designed the

, and the Council House on the plot where Dr. Gully's original house stood. The Grove in Avenue Road in 1867, originally to be his private residence in 1927 became part of the Lawnside School for girls, and in 1860 Whitbourne Hall, a Grade II* listed building, in Herefordshire. The Imperial was the first hotel to be lit by incandescent gas. It was equipped with all types of baths, and brine was brought specially by rail from Droitwich. Much architecture and statuary in the town centre is dedicated to Malvern water, including the St Ann's Well, which is housed in a building dating from 1813.

Music

Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

, British composer and Master of the King's Musick, lived much of his life around Malvern. His ''Pomp and Circumstance, March No. 1'', composed in 1901 and to which the words of ''

Land of Hope and Glory "Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902. Composition The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below ar ...

'' were later set, was first performed in the Wyche School next to the church in the presence of Elgar. A sculpture group by artist Rose Garrard comprising the ''Enigma'' fountain together with a statue of Elgar gazing over Great Malvern stands on Belle Vue Terrace in the town centre. The ''Elgar Route'', a drive passing some key landmarks from Elgar's life, passes through Malvern. Malvern Concert Club, founded in 1903 by Elgar, holds concerts held in the Forum Theatre, Malvern Theatres. Its programmes focus on renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary music. The Chandos Symphony Orchestra, under the professional direction of Michael Lloyd, has over 100 players. It specialises in performances of major works of the 19th and 20th Centuries. The ''Autumn in Malvern Festival'' is an annual event featuring performances of artists of music, poetry, writers and film makers held during October every year. The Colwell and other brass bands of the early century were part of the music of the town. The British violinist

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

lived in Malvern for many years and gives concerts in the town's culture venue.

Julius Harrison Julius Allan Greenway Harrison (26 March 1885 – 5 April 1963) was an English composer and conductor who was particularly known for his interpretation of operatic works. Born in Lower Mitton, Stourport in Worcestershire, by the age of 16 ...

(1885–1963), lived in Pickersleigh Road for most of the 1940s and was music director at Malvern College and director of the early Elgar Festivals in Malvern. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the Malvern Winter Gardens was a major regional venue for concerts by popular rock bands, including

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, Dave Berry,

T-Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

, AC/DC,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

, and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

. Many of the 1960s concerts were staged by Bannister promotions while later events were promoted by Cherry Red, a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based independent record label formed in 1978.

Drama

Malvern Theatres, housed in the Winter Gardens complex in the town centre, is a provincial centre for the arts. The first Malvern Drama Festival, which took place in 1929, was dedicated to

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and planned by Sir Barry Jackson. A number of works have had their first performances at Malvern, six by Shaw including In ''Good King Charles's Golden Days'', the 1929 English première of '' The Apple Cart'', and the world première of ''Geneva'' in 1938. In 1956 Malvern held a Shaw centenary week. In February 1965 a Malvern Festival Theatre Trust was set up, and extensive refurbishment was undertaken.

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

presided over the opening ceremony of the first summer season. In 1998, a further £7.2 million major redesign and refurbishment took place with the help of contributions from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF), administered by the government Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Theatre of Small Convenience entered the '' Guinness World Records '' in 2002 as the smallest theatre in the world. Housed in a former Victorian public convenience in the centre of the town in Edith Walk, the theatre had a capacity of 12 people. Before closing in 2017, the theatre regularly hosted puppetry, professional and amateur actors, drama, poetry, storytelling, and opera.

Literature

William Langland William Langland (; la, Willielmus de Langland; 1332 – c. 1386) is the presumed author of a work of Middle English alliterative verse generally known as ''Piers Plowman'', an allegory with a complex variety of religious themes. The poem tr ...

's famous 14th-century poem ''The Visions of Piers Plowman'' (1362) was inspired by the Malvern Hills and the earliest poetic allusion to them occurs in the poem ''And on a Maye mornynge on Malverne hylles''. Langland, the reputed writer, was possibly educated at the priory of Great Malvern. Several roads and buildings in Malvern are named after him. Malvern entered the writings and lives of several 17th–19th century poets. These include :

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...

: "While Malvern, king of hills, Severn overlooks", (''

Poly-Olbion The ''Poly-Olbion'' is a topographical poem describing England and Wales. Written by Michael Drayton (1563–1631) and published in 1612, it was reprinted with a second part in 1622. Drayton had been working on the project since at least 1598. ...

'', 1613, song 7), : John Dyer: "By the blue steeps of distant Malvern wall'd" ('' The fleece'', 1757, about sheep farming), :

: "Health opes the healing power her chosen fount/ In ... Malvern's ample mount", (1790, ''Ode on his Majesty's birthday''), :

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his '' Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,'' published in 1751. G ...

visited in 1770 during his final travels, : Joseph Cottle: "As I climb ... One mass of glory ... A fairy vision!" (''The Malvern Hills'', 1798), :

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

: church bells ring as "high as Malvern's cloudy crest" (1835, ''St. Catherine of Ledbury''), : Patrick Tytler died in Great Malvern, in 1849, :

Lord Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

: "Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze on Malvern's lonely height" (''The Armada''). C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien are among the authors that have frequented Malvern. Legend states that, after drinking in a Malvern pub one winter evening, they were walking home when it started to snow. They saw a lamp post shining out through the snow and Lewis turned to his friends and said "that would make a very nice opening line to a book". The novel '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' by Lewis later used that image as the characters enter the realm of

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...

. Tolkien found inspiration in the Malvern landscape which he had viewed from his childhood home in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and his brother Hilary's home near Evesham. He was introduced to the area by Lewis, who had brought him here to meet George Sayer, the Head of English at Malvern College. Sayer had been a student of Lewis, and became his biographer, and together with them Tolkien would walk the

. Recordings of Tolkien reading excerpts from ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' were made in Malvern in 1952, at the home of George Sayer. The recordings were later issued on long-playing

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts ne ...

s. In the liner notes for ''J.R.R Tolkien Reads and Sings his The Hobbit & The Fellowship of the Rings'', George Sayer wrote that Tolkien would relive the book as they walked and compared parts of the Malvern Hills to the White Mountains of Gondor. The poet

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

taught for three years in the 1930s at The Downs School, in the Malvern Hills. He wrote many poems there, including: ''This Lunar Beauty''; ''Let Your Sleeping Head''; ''My Love, Fish in the Unruffled Lakes''; and ''Out on the Lawn I Lie in Bed''. He also wrote the long poem about the hills and their views, called simply ''The Malverns''. In his 1941 novel ''Mr Lucton's Freedom''

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and fro ...

-born novelist Francis Brett Young describes sleeping out on the Malvern Hills and seeing the sunrise over the town.

Art

Works of art in Malvern include fountains, statues, and Malvern water spouts by the sculptor Rose Garrard. Among her sculptures are the statue of Sir Edward Elgar and the ''Enigma Fountain'' (Unveiled by Prince Andrew, Duke of York on Belle Vue Terrace, Malvern on 26 May 2000). and the drinking spout, ''Malvhina'', also on Belle Vue Terrace, which was unveiled on 4 September 1998. The Malvinha Fountain - geograph

Garrard's ''Hand of Peace'' war memorial, a sculpture in Portland stone is in the Barnards Green suburb of Malvern. Paintings of Malvern include ''Little Malvern Church'' by Joseph Farington now held by the Royal Academy, and a squared drawing by the art historian Robert Witt in the collection of the Courtauld Institute, Joseph Powell's ''Great Malvern Priory ... from the North East'' (1797), now in the British Watercolours collection of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. David Prentice, artist and one of the founder members of

Ikon Gallery The Ikon Gallery () is an English gallery of contemporary art, located in Brindleyplace, Birmingham. It is housed in the Grade II listed, neo-gothic former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henry Chamberlain in 1877. Ikon was se ...

, has lived and worked in Malvern since 1990. He started painting the Malvern Hills when he retired in 1983. A sculpture of two buzzards by

Walenty Pytel Walenty Pytel (1941- ) is a Polish-born contemporary artist based in the United Kingdom, recognised as a leading metal sculptor of birds and beasts. Life Pytel was born in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Because of his blon ...

was installed in Rosebank Gardens, Great Malvern to commemorate the

Queen's Diamond Jubilee The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

in November 2012.

Television

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

'', a drama documentary made in 1962 by the British director Ken Russell, was filmed on location in Malvern and Worcester. Several scenes were filmed in Malvern at locations including 'Forli' in Alexandra Road, 'Craeg Lea' in Malvern Wells and St Ann's Well in Great Malvern. Made for BBC Television's long-running '' Monitor'' programme, it dramatised the life of the composer Edward Elgar. The film significantly raised the public profile of the composer. The Malvern landscape forms the backdrop for ''

Penda's Fen ''Penda's Fen'' is a British television play, written by David Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke. It was commissioned by BBC producer David Rose, and first broadcast on 21 March 1974 as part of the corporation's ''Play for Today'' anthology seri ...

'', a 1974 British television play written by

David Rudkin James David Rudkin (born 29 June 1936) is an English playwright . Early life Rudkin was born in London. Coming from a family of strict evangelical Christians, he was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and read Mods and Greats at St ...

and directed by Alan Clarke for the BBC's '' Play for Today'' series. It tells the story of Stephen, a vicar's son who has visions of angels, Edward Elgar, and King Penda, the last pagan ruler of England. The final scene of the play, where the protagonist has an

apparitional experience In parapsychology, an apparitional experience is an anomalous experience characterized by the apparent perception of either a living being or an inanimate object without there being any material stimulus for such a perception. In academic discu ...

of King Penda and the "mother and father of England" and King Penda, is set on the Malvern Hills. The Tank Quarry on North Hill and West of England Quarry on the Worcestershire Beacon were used as locations in the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''

The Krotons ''The Krotons'' is the fourth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1968 to 18 January 1969. In the serial, the time travel ...

'', starring

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

. The serial was broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1968 to 18 January 1969. Great Malvern railway station featured in 1975 as the commuter-belt railway station in the first episode of

Survivors (1975 TV series) ''Survivors'' is a British post-apocalyptic fiction drama television series created by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC, that broadcast from 1975 to 1977. It concerns the plight of a group of people who have survived an ...

, the

post-apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series created by

Terry Nation Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 19309 March 1997) was a British screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for ''Doctor Who'', as well as the series '' Surviv ...

and produced by Terence Dudley at the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Malvern water

Malvern spring water flows freely from a number of fountains or spouts throughout the Malvern area. Upkeep of these historical springs is funded by several organisations, including the Town Council, the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, The Malvern Spa Association, and the

. The water became famous for containing "nothing at all". It was the reason for Malvern becoming a

and has formed a part of both local and national culture since

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

made a point of drinking it in public in the 16th century, and

refused to travel without it. It is also a bottled water used by Queen Elizabeth II Until November 2010 when the plant was closed due to lack of profitability, millions of litres of Malvern water were bottled annually by

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

Enterprises under the Schweppes brand in a factory near Malvern and distributed worldwide. Malvern water is still being bottled from the original source by a family-run business under the name Holywell Spring Water.

Twin town

Malvern has since 2013 been twinned with Mariánské Lázně, a spa town in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and since 2016 also with Bagnères-de-Bigorre, a spa town in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Places of worship

In addition to the 12th century priory, during and shortly after Malvern's expansion throughout the second half of the 19th century over twenty Christian churches were built. Many of these are reproductions of 13th and 14th century architecture including Church of St Matthias, Malvern Link (C of E) begun in 1843, which has a full set of ten ringing bells on which the first full peal of Grandsire Triples was rung on 1 June 1901. One of the most recent buildings is St Mary's Church (C of E), in Sherrards Green, a modern church built in 1958.

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

mentions the following 19th and early 20th century churches in Malvern in his book on Worcestershire: * All Saints, (The Wyche), 1903, by Nevinson and Newton (or possibly Troyte Griffith); * St. Andrew in Poolbrook, 1885, contains a font inscribed 1724, by Blomfield; Ascension (Leigh Sinton Road) 1903, by Sir Walter Tapper, with a high metal screen by G. Bainbridge Reynolds; * Christ Church (Avenue Road), 1875–6, by T. D. Barry & Sons, with unexpected cross gable; * Chapel of the Convent of the Holy Name, (Ranelagh Road), 1893, by Comper, with wagon roof and stained glass; * St. Joseph (Newtown Road), 1876, by T. R. Donnelly; * St. Matthias (Church Road), original by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, 1844–46, enlarged and altered by F. W. Hunt, 1880–81, painted dado and stained glass; * Our Lady and St. Edmund (College Road), 1905, by P. P. Pugin; * St. Peter (St. Peter's Road), 1863–6, by G. E. Street, with crazy paving of Malvern granite; * Holy Trinity, (Worcester Road), 1850–1, by S. Daukes, enlarged 1872 by Haddon brothers; with plate and stained glass; * Congregational Church, (Queen's Drive), 1875, by J. Tait of Leicester; * Emmanuel, (

Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For many years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist ...

), 1874, by Haddon Brothers.*

Health and emergency services

Malvern has a community hospital on Worcester Road in Malvern Link. The hospital was constructed on the grounds of a former independent preparatory school, Seaford Court, and began operation in 2010. It was officially opened by The Princess Royal in March 2011. This replaced the former community hospital on Lansdowne Crescent. Major health facilities are provided by hospitals in Worcester. The town has seven health centres, including a health complex in Malvern Link and a group practice on Pickersleigh Road. Malvern also has several

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

and

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

s for the care of senior citizens. The Malvern area is covered by the

Midlands Air Ambulance The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), formerly County Air Ambulance, is a charity operating a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. ...

service, which has operated from the site of Strensham motorway services since 1991. Malvern is served by the West Midlands Ambulance Service operated by the

NHS Trust An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...

. The ambulance station is in Victoria Road, Great Malvern, near the town centre. Other emergency services are provided by

West Mercia Police West Mercia Police (), formerly the West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) and Worcestershire in England. The force area cove ...

from a station in Victoria Road, and the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service that has a station in Worcester Road, Malvern Link.

Transport

Major road access to the area is provided by the

A449 road The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire. The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of the tru ...

that runs through the centre of Malvern, connecting it to Worcester and Ledbury. The

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

(

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, c ...

, north-west of

to Exeter in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

) is accessible at junctions 7 and 8 to the east of Malvern. The M50 motorway (Tewkesbury to

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye ...

), also known as the ''Ross Spur'' to the south is accessed at junction 1 on the A38 road between

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

and Malvern. Two railway stations approximately one mile (1.6 km) apart at Great Malvern and

. Great Western Railway and

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

operate services as far as Hereford, Birmingham New Street, Brighton and London Paddington. Malvern bus services include several circular urban routes connecting the main residential and commercial areas and out-of-town shopping malls. Other routes serve the surrounding villages and Worcester city centre. Most services are operated by

First Midland Red First Midland Red Buses,Companies House extract company no 1556327< ...

. Air services operate from

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...

, about an hour's drive away on the M5 and M42 motorways.

Gloucestershire Airport Gloucestershire Airport , formerly Staverton Airport, is a small airport at Churchdown, England. It lies west of Cheltenham, near the city of Gloucester and close to the M5 motorway. Its operator claims it to be Gloucestershire's largest g ...

, at Staverton, in the borough of

, is a busy

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airport, used mainly for private charter and scheduled flights to such destinations as the islands of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

and Guernsey and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, for pilot training, and by the aircraft of emergency services. Taxi services are provided by numerous local firms.

Education

Primary schools

Elementary education is provided by thirteen primary schools in the town and its suburbs including eight Church of England, one Roman Catholic, and four non-denominational state schools. With the exception of The Grove (1962), Poolbrook Primary School (1977), and Northleigh (1991) that replaced the Cowleigh C of E school destroyed by arson in 1989, all the Malvern primary schools were established between 1836 and 1916, during and shortly after the town's rapid development as a spa.

High schools

The Chase School in the suburb of Barnards Green near the town centre is a secondary school with around 1300 pupils. It is a specialist

Technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

college under the

specialist schools programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

, previously designated a Beacon School.Ofsted report 137625-2339681 Dyson Perrins Church of England Academy in the northern part of the large suburb of

, a

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 Britai ...

school with almost 1000 pupils, is a specialist

Sports College Sports Colleges are senior secondary schools which promote sports alongside secondary education. United Kingdom Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The programme enabled seco ...

.Ofsted report 137186-453417. Hanley Castle High School, with around 1000 pupils, including its

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

centre, is a specialist Language College and was founded in 1326 as a chantry school, making it one of the oldest schools in England. Although the school is in the village of Hanley Castle, about from the town, many of its pupils come from the Malvern area.

Independent schools

Two large independent 'public' schools – Malvern College for boys and girls and Malvern St James for girls – now remain following mergers of Malvern's many private primary and secondary schools. Malvern College is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

public school, founded in 1865. Until 1992, it was a school for boys aged 13 to 18. Following a merger with Ellerslie School for Girls in 1992 it became coeducational. Among its alumni are two Nobel Laureates (

James Meade James Edward Meade, (23 June 1907 – 22 December 1995) was a British economist and winner of the 1977 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences jointly with the Swedish economist Bertil Ohlin for their "pathbreaking contribution to the ...

and

Francis William Aston Francis William Aston FRS (1 September 1877 – 20 November 1945) was a British chemist and physicist who won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery, by means of his mass spectrograph, of isotopes in many non-radioactive elements a ...

), an Olympic Gold medalist ( Arnold Jackson), and leading politicians. Further acquisition of Hillstone and merger with The Downs (in nearby

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 ...

) preparatory schools has established an independently run coeducational feeder school, The Downs Malvern, for pupils up to 13 years old. Malvern St James was formed in 2006 by the merger of Malvern Girls' College and St. James's School, West Malvern (formerly St James's and The Abbey) and other mergers with local private schools over the last thirty years. It is now the last of the independent girls' schools in the Malvern area. The main building of Malvern St James on the campus of the former Malvern Girls' College is the former Imperial Hotel, built in the second half of the 19th century. Hatley St James, a Victorian mansion on Albert Road South, and former residence of the Seton-Karr family, was used as a house for the school. The Abbey College is an international boarding school providing education mainly for students from countries outside the United Kingdom. Founded in 1974, it provides pre university preparation for mixed gender students aged 14 to 20.

Further education

Malvern Hills College is a centre for further education providing government certificate vocational courses for adults and post 14-year-old students. Malvern also has an active

University of the Third Age The University of the Third Age (U3A) is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community—those in their third 'age' of life. There is no universally accepted model for the U3A. I ...

that was founded at Malvern Hills College in 1995. Its inaugural meeting was attended by around 150 members of the public, and by 2011 it had over 80 interest groups and 1,100 members.

Leisure

The Priory Park with its adjoining Malvern Splash pool and Winter Gardens complex occupies a large area in the centre of the town. The Winter Gardens complex is home to the Malvern Theatres, a cinema, a concert venue/banqueting room, bars and cafeterias. For almost half a century, the Malvern Winter Gardens has also been a leisure centre and a major regional venue for classical music, and concerts by major rock bands of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The Splash Leisure Complex flanks the eastern boundary of Priory Park and has an indoor swimming pool and gymnasium. In the town centre is also an extensive public Library that includes access to the Internet and many community services. The Worcestershire Way, a waymarked long-distance trail in Worcestershire, runs from

Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the Riv ...

to Great Malvern.

Sport

The Manor Park Club multi-sports complex, close to the town centre, provides the area with indoor and outdoor sports facilities including tennis, squash, indoor bowls, racketball, archery and table tennis. It is assisted by grants from various bodies, including the Malvern Hills District Council, the Sport England Lottery, and the

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physica ...

. In 2010, a new indoor facility was unveiled at the club by tennis player

Tim Henman Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis. He was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals of Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in th ...

. Traditional outdoor bowls is played on a green in Priory Park. Other public areas such as Victoria Park in Malvern Link provide space for field sports and tennis. Malvern Town FC has a football first team that plays in the Hellenic Football League and which has twice reached the third qualifying round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. The Malvern Hills are a popular launching site for

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

and Malvern has a local hang gliding club. Cricket is provided for at Barnards Green Cricket Club, a professional class ground.

Notable people

In addition to those born in Malvern, many notable people came to the town to provide or partake of its

Hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term ...

, to be educated or to teach at the large number of independent boarding schools such as Malvern College with its long list of notable alumni, and its elementary school, The Downs, and Malvern St James for girls, that still remain active into the 21st century. A significant number of people were scientists at the

, and its successor the

Royal Radar Establishment The Royal Radar Establishment was a research centre in Malvern, Worcestershire in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1953 as the Radar Research Establishment by the merger of the Air Ministry's Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) a ...

, the country's largest secret defence research facility with around 4,000 civil servants and military personnel, and the

quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where N ...

it became (as of 2011), QinetiQ. The

, a designated

, have also inspired several poets and novelists. * Thomas Attwood, British economist and campaigner for electoral reform, died in Malvern, on 9 March 1859. * Michael P. Barnett, (24 March 1929 – 13 March 2012) was a British theoretical chemist and computer scientist; researcher at the

in 1953. Wikipedia editor and also significant contributor to this ''Malvern, Worcestershire'' article. * William Algernon Churchill (1865–1947) British diplomat and art historian retired to Worlfield House, Malvern in early 1920s. * Nigel Coates, architect and Emeritus professor of the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

grew up in Malvern and was educated at Hanley Castle Grammar School. *

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

's daughter, is buried in the graveyard of Malvern Priory. * David Davis (1908–1996)

...

Toponymy

History

Bronze Age to monastic times

Monastic Malvern

Post dissolution

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

20th century

Governance

Geography

Town centre

Suburbs and neighbourhoods

Climate

Demography

Ethnicity

Population development

Economy

Research and development

Manufacturing

Agriculture and horticulture

Culture

Architecture

Music

Drama

Literature

Art

Television

Malvern water

Twin town

Places of worship

Health and emergency services

Transport

Education

Primary schools

High schools

Independent schools

Further education

Leisure

Sport

Notable people

Related settlements

References

Further reading

External links