November 2009

Who are our Friends? Friends promote research, conservation and celebration of the Springs, Spouts, Fountains and Holy Wells of the Malvern Hills and of Great Malvern as a Spa Town. If you would like any back numbers of our Newsletters send a large SAE to Bruce with details of which ones you require. There is no charge and they are now collector's items! 

Lord Sandys - South and North

Lord Sandys Spout is one of the most northerly water features in the Malverns; Holy Well one of the most southerly. The water trickling from the bronze lion's head at Lord Sandys Spout is unsuitable for drinking so it was appropriate on 19th October 2009 to toast the completion of its refurbishment with glasses of Holy Well water.

On this sun-blessed occasion, Lord Richard Sandys of Ombersley referred to his distantly-related ancestor, Dr John Wall, who, like himself, had an interest in Malvern spring water. In 1740 Dr Wall had married Catherine, the youngest daughter of Martin Sandys, the Town Clerk of the City of Worcester. Martin was the fourth son of Samuel Sandys who was created First Lord Sandys in 1743, three years after Dr Wall and Catherine were married.

Lord Sandys Spout has had some of its lavatorial brickwork replaced in a not-quite-matching white, but time, grime and slime may reduce the contrast. During the renovation, pieces of glass and earthenware were unearthed, remnants of J.G Bennett's bottling industry? These shards have been delightfully incorporated into the repaired Malvern stone wall to the right of the spout, a reminder that Malvern water bottling was a more prolific industry than it is now.

Renovation such as this keeps Malvern's water heritage alive. Well done everyone.     Cora Weaver

Do have a look at the site if you are in Malvern Link. It is in Spring Lane.

St Ethelbert's Well - Hereford

In our last newsletter we gave details of St Ethelbert’s Well near Hereford Cathedral. A number of Friends have explored this further and we can now reproduce a picture of the present day site, albeit dry and easily overlooked. It is readily found near the cathedral but better still there is a lot of information available in the cathedral about St Ethelbert, king and martyr. To find the fountain site, head down Castle Street from Cathedral Green and then immediately turn right into Quay Street. Proceed to where it trifurcates and the site is just around the corner to the left. In the cathedral the St Ethelbert story is told in 13 panels attached to a pillar behind the main altar. His statue is harder to get to and lies to the right of the main altar in an area excluded to tourists. It is well worth a pilgrimage; at the same time you can explore this attractive city.

Mulberry Tree International Link

On the weekend of 19/20 September 2009 a party from Malvern, Australia arrived in Malvern, England as guests of Friends of Malvern Springs and Wells. The party included Di Foster, Local History Officer who has been involved in the Mulberry Tree project. As well as a climb to the top of the Worcester Beacon, the party were entertained by Denise Preston from Malvern Civic Society who took them on a conducted walk around Great Malvern. A highlight of the weekend was the inspection of two of the six Mulberry Tree saplings, which had 6 weeks of acclimatisation and growth in England with impressive and somewhat surprising results. Di's office is immediately adjacent to the Australian Mulberry tree and the local museums, both in England and Australia are involved with the project. For further updates on this project keep an eye on our dedicated web site at www.malvernsworldwide.info  where there are pictures and background information. In the picture Cora, Bruce and Denise exchange local history books with Di Foster, before embarking on an exploration of Great Malvern and the hills.

Malvern Hills more a National Park than the real thing in the UK.

This year the Conservators celebrate their 125 Anniversary and you will likely have seen the 12 page special in the 30 Oct. Malvern Gazette. In our last newsletter we postulated the idea that the Malvern Hills were Britain's original National Park, albeit not named as such. We received comment from a number of Friends and publish an extract from one email as follows.

Re the item on national parks, I was the first director of a new conservation organisation, set up in London in 1977, called the Council for National Parks..... The NP movement in the US had taken off and was also an influence - a pity we didn't go down the road they did of nationalising the land that was to be protected. What I can do when I return is lend you a book whose title summarises the difficult and complex situation here: Public Parks on Private Land in England and Wales. It was published in 1971, and the author is an American (I'm sure it was a PhD thesis), but the historical chapter should interest you

We were particularly interested in the mention of nationalisation of the land when the US National Parks were formed. On an international level the definition of a National Park includes the inalienable status of the land achieved by the Park area being owned by the nation for the nation, with appropriate legislation that curtails the inappropriate management of the land. In this respect the Malvern Hills are more a National Park than the 15 designated British National Parks. In the British case, the land is largely privately owned and the National Park legislation curtails the rights of the landowner to develop the land. However with the Malvern Hills the land is owned by the Malvern Hills Conservators, representing the Nation, with statutory obligations to manage the land within strict parameters. Because a British National Park Authority does not own the land, the Malvern Hills is arguably nearer to the international model than the so named British National Parks.

Holy Well Water now available in bottles.

We are pleased to be able to report that bottling of the Holywell Spring Water from Malvern Wells commenced this summer. This follows an extensive programme of restoration of the historic building and surrounds by Mike and Marion Humm from the Thornbury Hotel in Avenue Road. The smart glass bottles with their green and blue label are already appearing in restaurants in the area and anyone wishing to sample the elixir could call into The Thornbury in Avenue Road. The Holy Well has a long provenance of recorded history dating back to the early 17^th century and bottling of the water has been carried out at various times in the past. There is also a useful interpretation board within the public well facility at Holy Well, where the water can also be drunk from the recently restored spout and basin. Lying three miles south of Great Malvern, the Holy Well is well worth a visit when touring the springs and wells. Have a look at the web site http://www.holywellspringwater.co.uk

What has happened to Dr Grindrods Fountain?

We were alarmed to see that Dr Grindrods Fountain has been fenced off in conjunction with the new development of the site of his former spa in College Road. At least it is still there but no longer viewable.

We are now making plans for the tree planting celebrations for the grandchild of George Bernard Shaw’s original Mulberry Tree in Priory Park. This will be combined with the launch of our new book Aquae Malvernensis Encyclopaedia. We also plan to show some original film footage relevant to the history of the Mulberry Tree in Priory Park and its subsequent demise and reincarnation. Watch this space for details. There may also even be an opportunity to dance around the Mulberry Bush. In the meantime who is that messing about with the original Mulberry Tree in Priory Park in 1956? Have a look at our dedicated web site to find out.

Go to WEB SITE INDEX from the green panel above left and then click on the entry. 

Where is the World War II Relic?

The Charles Morris Spout in North Malvern lies just behind the Clock Tower Tank and Spout. Both have recently seen enhancements as a result of the Heritage Lottery Fund monies. Between the spout and the road was, until recently, an interesting relic of an early World War II fire hydrant. It lay in the grass and of the five or six brass hose connector nozzles, only three remained. The hydrant was connected to a six inch iron pipe supply. During a recent search we were only able to locate the remains of an iron pipe flange in the grass. What has happened to the rest of it? Do you know? If so let us know. Should it be in Malvern Museum if removed?

Mulberry Tree - site and spring.

We are pleased to report progress with the Mulberry Tree saplings. One of the problems has been in deciding how they should be wintered. The saplings arrived in August in the UK and were at the end of the Australian winter.  They have grown at an alarming rate during the first two months in England but as our weather turns colder, how should we prepare the saplings for our winter? One option is to keep them in doors and warm thus denying them the cold weather dormancy. The other is to let them survive our winter in a sheltered outdoor position and look forward to them growing next spring. Our plan is to distribute the saplings to a variety of locations and so in the hands of experts, they will each be dealt with in a slightly different manner. This way we hope to spread the risk of losing one or two and provide some with what may transpire to be the perfect conditions to lead to healthy growth next year. In the picture left one of the saplings, nicknamed Bernadette, is taken off to a secret location to winter in the UK. The other piece of  news is that Malvern Hills District Council have reserved a spot for the replanting as near as possible to the site of the original tree that George Bernard Shaw planted in 1936.  This was deduced from a 1992 picture of the original tree and is adjacent to the spring in Priory Park. In the picture below Cora stands by the former location of the original tree. For background and the latest news go to the WEB SITE INDEX from the green panel top left and click on Mulberry Tree.

 

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