St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church,

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 Malvern ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, England is a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

administered by the monks of

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged 11 to 18. Both the abbey ...

. The attached churchyard contains the grave of the composer

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 ...

and of his wife,

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

. The church was designed in 1862 in a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style by Benjamin Bucknall. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. The Elgars' grave has a separate Grade II listing.

History

The

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

established a monastery at what is now

Little Malvern Priory Little Malvern Priory, in the village of Little Malvern near Malvern, Worcestershire, was a Benedictine monastery c. 1171–1537. It was founded from Worcester Cathedral. Little remains of the 12th-century church (building), church, which was ...

in around 1171. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory was reduced to the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and tower, and other elements were converted and reused in the construction of Little Malvern Court. The court came into the possession of the Berington family in the 18th century, who remain its owners. Staunchly

recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

, the Beringtons supported a Catholic congregation at Little Malvern and in 1860 engaged the architect Benjamin Bucknall to construct a new church. The church, completed in 1862, was dedicated to St Wulstan. In 1920 Alice Elgar, wife of the composer

, was buried in the churchyard at St Wulstan's. The church had been the Elgars' regular place of worship during their time at Craeg Lea, their home at Malvern Wells. Following his own death in 1934, Elgar himself was interred in the same grave. Their memorial was designed by Arthur Troyte Griffith, a Malvern-based architect and close friend of Elgar, whom Elgar celebrated in Variation VII, “Troyte”, of his ''Enigma Variations''. The composer Dorothy Howell, who for many years tended the Elgar grave on behalf of the Elgar Society, is buried nearby. The church is now owned and administered by the Benedictine community at

Architecture and description

The church is constructed of local Malvern

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone dressings. It comprises a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and a chancel. An undercroft designed by Bucknall was never built. The church contains

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

by Hardman & Co., which, as at 2022, is undergoing a major restoration. St Wulstan's is a

. The Elgars' grave has a separate Grade II listing.

Gallery

Elgar's grave, Little Malvern.jpg, Grave of

and his wife

Stained Glass, Lady chapel, St. Wulstan's Church - geograph.org.uk - 453196.jpg, Stained glass window Stained Glass, Lady chapel, St. Wulstan's Church - geograph.org.uk - 453207.jpg, Stained glass window Baptistry, St. Wulstan's Church - geograph.org.uk - 453219.jpg, Baptistry

Notes

References

Sources

External links

St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic churches in Worcestershire Grade II listed churches in Worcestershire Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Worcestershire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic churches completed in 1862 Edward Elgar