Great Malvern

This article relates to the town centre of Malvern. For in-depth treatment see Malvern, Worcestershire. Coordinates: 52°07′N 2°20′W / 52.11°N 2.33°W / 52.11; -2.33

Great Malvern
Great Malvern  Great Malvern shown within Worcestershire
OS grid reference	SO786459
District	Malvern Hills
Shire county	Worcestershire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MALVERN
Postcode district	WR14
Dialling code	01684
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	West Worcestershire
List of places: UK • England • Worcestershire

View over Great Malvern at sunrise

Malvinha Fountain on Belle Vue Island not far from Elgar's statue and the Enigma Fountain

Great Malvern is the historical town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire, and the seats of the civil parish of Malvern Town Council and Malvern Hills District council of the county of Worcestershire, England. Positioned at the foot, and partly on the sides, of the Malvern Hills, it is the main urban centre of the area of Malvern, Worcestershire that includes the suburbs of Barnards Green, Little Malvern, Malvern Link with Link Top, Malvern Wells, North Malvern, and West Malvern, and often referred to - along with the hills - as The Malverns. In 1900 the former urban districts of Great Malvern and Malvern Link were merged and form the current (2009) six wards governed by Malvern Town Council.

Location

Ordnance Survey grid reference SO786459. Latitude: N52:06:42, Longitude W002:18:46.

Great Malvern is approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south-west of the city of Worcester, on the eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills. The altitude of the town ranges from about 50 to 200 meters (164 to 656 feet) above sea level. The River Severn runs roughly north-south about 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) to the east of the town.

Town centre

The Malvern Hills give the town a steep incline which can make moving around the town centre relatively difficult, particularly Church Street, one of the two main streets, and its parallel road Edith Walk, formerly a quiet unpaved lane that now provides access to car parks and the town centre's two large supermarkets. The other main street is the perpendicular Bellevue Terrace, a relatively flat extension of the Worcester Road (A449).

At the heart of the town is a statue of Edward Elgar the composer, who lived in the town. Among the many shops are three supermarkets Waitrose, Iceland and Somerfield, 20 meters (66 ft) apart), a W H Smith bookshop, Severn Office Supplies, Brays (clothing) a family-owned English men's outfitter established in 1895 and probably the town's oldest surviving retail business.^{[citation needed]} Woolworths department store, for almost a century a flagship of the British high street scene, and Malvern's longest existing shop in Church Street finally closed for business on 6 January 2009^[1] due to the 2008 global economic crisis.

In the town is also an extensive Public Library that includes access to many community services. Since the construction of the two large supermarkets in the town centre and other parts of Malvern, most of the traditional shops in the town are now tea-rooms, health food shops, specialist cafés and snack bars, banks, building societies, second-hand book shops, charity shops, law firms and solicitors offices, and a large number of estate agents.^{[citation needed]}

Along the railway line from Worcester to Hereford is the Victorian Great Malvern railway station, whose waiting room has been converted to a traditional tearoom. The station is a listed building and is a superb existing example of Victorian railway architecture. It has a private pedestrian tunnel (now derelict) built specially for the guests of the nearby Imperial Hotel which was the town's largest during its heyday as a spa town and resort. In 1893 the building which housed the hotel became the Malvern Girls' College now called Malvern St James School.

Great Malvern Priory

The large, magnificent priory and parish church of Malvern also occupies a large part of the very centre of the town with its main gate in Church Street. It dates from 1085, with extensions in the years between 1450 and 1500.

Culture and Leisure

The Priory Park with its adjoining Malvern Splash pool and Winter Gardens occupies a large area in the centre of the town. The Winter Gardens complex is home to the Malvern Theatre^[2], a leading provincial centre for dramatic arts^[3], a cinema (movie theatre), a concert venue/banqueting room, bars and cafeterias.

For almost half a century, the Malvern Winter Gardens has also been a major regional venue for classical music, and concerts by legendary rock bands of the 60s, 70s and 80s. In 1998 a £7.2 million major redesign and refurbishment of the Winter Gardens complex took place with the help of contributions from the The National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF), administered by the government Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Splash Leisure Complex flanks the eastern boundary of Priory Park and has an indoor swimming pool and gymnasium.

Located between the hospital and the Malvern Hills College are the grounds and buildings of the Park Club Multi Sports Complex that provides the Malvern area with extensive indoor and outdoor sports facilities. It is assisted by grants and loans from various bodies, including the Malvern Hills District Council, the Sport of England (Lottery) and the Lawn Tennis Association.

Dramatic Arts

The Winter Gardens complex is the home of the Malvern Theatres. The first Malvern Drama Festival^[4] was planned by Sir Barry Jackson and took place in 1929 and was dedicated to Bernard Shaw. Many premiers of works by famous playwrights had their first performances at Malvern, including two by Bernard Shaw. In 1956, on the occasion of the dramatist's 100th birthday, 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 presided over the opening ceremony of the first summer season.

Fringe Festival

Great Malvern is the home of one of the oldest Fringe festivals in the world. ^[5] The main events of the Malvern Fringe are the May Day and the annual three day festival held in June as a fringe to the Elgar Festival. These are accompanied by musical and other live events throughout the year.

Architecture

The town is graced by many fine examples of Victorian and Edwardian 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. Many of the villas have since been converted to apartments, while some of the smaller hotels are now retirement homes. Much architecture and statuary in the town centre is dedicated to Malvern Water, including the St. Ann's Well, Malvern, which is housed in a building dating from 1815^[6][7]. The drinking spout, Malvhina, by the sculptor Rose Garrard, was unveiled on 4 September 1998. The Enigma Fountain, also by Garrard, was unveiled by Prince Andrew in 2000.

Malvern Water

The Malvern Water became famous for containing "nothing at all". It was the main reason for Malvern becoming a spa town and has formed a part of both local and national culture since Queen Elizabeth I made a point of drinking it in public in the 16th century, and Queen Victoria refused to travel without it. It is the only bottled water used by Queen Elizabeth II, which she takes on her travels around the world^[8]. Millions of litres of Malvern Water are bottled annually by Schweppes in a factory near Malvern and distributed worldwide.

Education

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries following the decline in Malvern's popularity as a spa town, many private boarding schools were established in Great Malvern, often occupying the premises of former hotels and large villas. Two large public schools (private secondary schools) - one for boys, The Boy's College, Malvern College, and one for girls, Malvern St James's - now remain and rank among the country's foremost independent schools. There are several state controlled or volutary assisted primary schools in the Great Malvern area, but there are no LEA secondary schools.

References

External links

• Malvern Town Council official web site

Geography and layout

• Town centre map
• Aerial view
• Early 20th-century photographs of the town

History and culture

• Malvern Museum
• Friends of Malvern Springs and Wells
• Great Malvern Priory - Anglican parish church
• Malvern festival
• Malvern Theatres
• Malvern Library
• Malvern Spa Association

Education

• Evesham and Malvern Hills College - Adult Education
• The Chase school- state secondary school
• Dyson Perrins school - state secondary school
• Malvern St James - private school
• Malvern College - private school

Tourism

• Official tourism information
• Three Counties site- Agricultural shows
• Royal Horticultural Society - Spring Gardening Show

Health

• Malvern Hospital (NHS site)
• Hospital Bank site redevelopment - 2001 newspaper article
• Whiteacres Medical Centre

News

• Malvern Gazette Malvern weekly newspaper

Further reading

Brian Smith (1978) A History of Malvern ISBN 0-904387-313

Footnotes