Our plan today is to explore the city of Great Malvern, we have not seen much of it since we walked a long way across the tops of the hills yesterday. After that, we will travel by train to Ludlow. Great Malvern is in Worcestershire, whereas Ludlow is in Shropshire, and we will take a train to Herefordshire, then transfer to another train to Ludlow and then walk to our B&B.
In Great Malvern, the weather was mostly sunny, but with a gusty wind… the locals would call it 'fresh'. After a visit to the information center, we had a list of things to see for a few hours. As on most days, I try to capture what we see in photos and Eileen makes copious notes describing our experiences and new knowledge. We visited the Elgar fountain, because water quality is the main reason for the success and popularity of Great Malvern. After that we went through a small open air farmers market to reach the town’s history museum. Loads to see in there about: water, the ‘spa’ treatments, and other historical trinkets including the development of radar before and during WWII. We then spent time looking inside the very large church rectory going back 800 years in time…. And on to Ludlow.
She Said:
We had a wonderful day in Great Malvern. The Cotford Hotel stored our bags for the day and we set off for the Tourist Information Center, where a very enthusiastic person gave us all the tourist information we would need.
We started at the Malvern Museum, housed in the gatehouse of the Great Malvern Priory, refurbished in 1480! In the first room was a Porter's Squint, a tiny window in the (very thick) gatehouse wall used to check out Priory visitors before allowing them to enter. Also in the first room was a large Green Man head from the original Priory. The Green Man is a pagan God of Nature and his likeness pops up in some very unlikely places (like hidden somewhere in the carved woodwork of most Churches.)
The Benedictine monks (1080) were the keepers of and pray-ers at the Priory. They took 3 vows: Poverty, Chastity, Obedience. They tied 3 knots on the rope belts of their habits to constantly remind them of their vows. First worship service was at 3:30 am, so the monks slept in their clothes. Their days consisted of 5 hrs. of worship, 8 hrs. of praying and 9 hrs. of sleeping. They ate 2 meals a day, in silence, and were given a pint of wine with each meal. Not bad!
About those 5 hrs. of worship - they were taxing on the monks' knees and legs, so their seats in the Priory were hinged. The seats could be lifted up and the monks could lean against them for relief. They were called Misericords (some Latin something) meaning "acts of mercy".
One of the monks, the poet William Langland (1330-1387) wrote Piers Plowman while here in the Great Malvern Priory. It is said that walking in the Malvern Hills was his inspiration for the poem.
Beekeeping has been important in the countryside since medieval times. In Great Malvern, there is mention, in 1487, of the ideal swarm: "a good swarm should weigh 9 pounds and should have 45,000 bees." Beeswax was worth 10x the price of honey because of the demand for good wax for church candles.
Shout out to Kim Bromley - The Bromleys of Holt Castle (1586) settled in Great Malvern.
The museum had a "link stone" - used as a boundary between estates. The link stone had a deep depression in its top where passers would leave payment for passage through an estate's property.
Malvern was, and still is, famous for its supposedly curative "waters". There are still spas throughout the Midlands area. The Victorians, in particular, were big fans of "The Water Cure". That Cure existed of:
1. The Pack (no explanation for what that meant!)
2. The Water Wrap (successive layers of cold water, lamb's wool, ice water)
3. The Fresh Air Bath (a brisk walk up in the hills)
Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale, sang at the theaters here in Great Malvern, took the Cures here, and eventually took a cottage here.
As in all other areas of England, the Malvern Hills played an important role in WWII. 79,000 U.K. casualties from Dunkirk were sent to Midlands' hospitals for recovery and recuperation. As our taxi driver told us yesterday, the British military moved its scientific research and radar technology efforts to this area because of the cloud cover, which made it difficult for the Germans to bomb this area. In 1942, 2500 scientists developed radar, thereby assisting in British bombing campaigns, the invasion of France before and after D-Day, and the detection of German U Boats. Also during WWII! The Malvern Hills were a huge destination for many (if not most) of the kids from London who were evacuated to save them for the German's bombing of the city. (Still, over 300 German bombs fell in the Midlands.)
Great Malvern is also the home of the Morgan Automobile.
We spent a good hour inside the Malvern Priory. It contains the largest example of medieval stained glass in England. The enormous stained glass windows behind the alter of the Church were removed (I can't imagine how) during WWII to save it from possible bombings. The floor is currently covered with Victorian tiles, but it was originally covered with over 50,000 medieval tiles. The medieval tiles (1450-1500) still exist on the several walls, in large numbers.
The original ceiling line of the Priory (1085) is clearly visible on the stone walls of the Church. The high ceiling and huge stone archways were added in 1440.
On one of the huge stone pillars, the stone masons of that time left their makers marks.
All the stone used in the Priory is from the Malvern Hills.
Next to the Lady's Chapel is a low tomb from 1125.
Adjacent to the main alter is an effigy of an unknown knight, archaeologically important because he holds a shield in one hand and a battle ax in the other, rather than a sword held in both hands over the heart. I would think that the fact that the effigy is from the 12th century would make it plenty archaeologically important in any case.
Another tomb, to the right of the main alter, is of a reclining medieval couple and their kneeling daughter. The tomb is a fine example of Elizabethan dress, as all are completely outfitted in the wealthy garb of the Elizabethan era.
Tucked against a wall, and almost hidden, is a marvelous embroidery Banner from 1910. It was worked by the nuns at St. Mary's Convent and is really the finest needlework I have ever seen.
We walked up to Rosebank Gardens with the intention of eating our lunch there, but the wind had come up there, up against the Hills, so we walked back and ate on a park bench on the Priory grounds. A very vocal Robin sat on a branch 10 feet from us and sang the entire time we were there (and did make a play for the date pits that I spit out.)
After lunch, we found another garden and watched some ducklings learning about life from their Mom. The gardens in Great Malvern are many and beautiful.
We caught the train to Hereford and changed there for Ludlow. A short walk to our B+B, another short walk to Tesco for dinner supplies, and a quick look at the news and weather (some cloud, sun and rain) for tomorrow and we are ready to turn in.
Tomorrow we walk again. Looking forward to it.
(Definitive info from Tourist Center lady - Eastnor Castle is not medieval, but a 19th c. home built by rich people to make them feel even richer.)
Hector, the mellow dog in Great Malvern
The Cotford Hotel
The museum
The Malvern Rectory
The sculpture of two buzzards
views of Great Malvern
travel to Ludlow
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