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 an invaluable historic archive! 

When George Bernard Shaw planted the first generation Mulberry Tree in Priory Park alongside the Mulberry Spring in 1936, he used a spade that appears in several photographs. We have been seeking a famous spade for the replanting. Research has revealed that many years ago two brothers, antique collectors living in Stourbridge, acquired a famous spade and brought it with them to Malvern when they retired in the 1960s. One brother died, and after the death of the second brother his widow left the spade to a local man, a family acquaintance. He then passed it to his daughter and her husband, who used it to dig the garden would you believe! Keen to obtain a spade with provenance for the future planting of the mulberry tree in Priory Park, Cora secured the spade for Malvern Museum in exchange for a super new model.  As a result of her research, Cora learned that the spade had always been known as the 'Elgar Spade', with which the composer had planted a mulberry tree at Battenhall in Worcester in March 1931. So, when the time comes, it's the Elgar Spade, now in the care of Malvern Museum, which will be used when the Friends of Malvern Springs & Wells plant a third generation Shaw mulberry tree in Priory Park. In the picture Brother Luke guards the spade in Malvern Museum.

What was this? - see picture

Malvern Water update

We have recently read in the local paper that Colwall water bottling plant is shedding up to one third of its workforce. The market has taken a downturn and the recession is one of the factors behind this recent trend. So often we take it for granted that a business will continue to prosper regardless of what you throw at it. This is not so. The business model, that has to produce profits at the end of the year to survive, is a fragile construct. Many have criticised the Colwall operation over recent years and its difficulties are worrying. Malvern, the original, English Water is the end of a long line of bottlers of Malvern Water and has survived where others have disappeared. This is in no small part due to the resources of Coca Cola being used to ensure the business remains viable. To local people the label means that the name Malvern has high exposure and awareness internationally. This in turn brings economic benefits to the locality. In addition the factory employs a modest size group of dedicated local people in a vintage bottling works. Both add to the quality of local life. We know that the management is working hard to protect the employees and the Malvern brand, and continue to search for new contracts to grow the brand and so give the Colwall site a robust commercial future. We can but offer our support to the team at Colwall as they tackle these difficulties.

Should springs and wells be given grade 2 listed status?

In the last newsletter we highlighted the plight of Dr Grindrod's fountain. It has been fenced in and it has lost its crowning gothic arch of brickwork. Another example is Dr Jacob's fountain in the Malvern Theatre complex. At the turn of the 20th century, when the Winter Gardens were refurbished and remodelled as Malvern Theatres, the fountain was under threat. Prompt action only just in time prevented Jacob's Fountain disappearing into an antique dealer's van. It was not reinstated in its former position but merely relegated to a corner of the cafeteria area, minus much of the original plinth. The photograph is a recent one and characterises the unimportance that is being bestowed on this town treasure. It is time to do something about this. About three years ago we provided Malvern Civic Society with a list of Springs & Wells that might be considered for a collective local listing, which would offer a measure of protection. Is this the answer? Should our Springs & Wells heritage have listed status or some other form of protection? Please let us have your ideas.

Update on the Brine Baths in Droitwich

Holy Well Visitor Centre opened

Some local enthusiasts were dismayed following the 'official' opening of the new visitor centre at Holy Well on Tuesday 15th December. Having been developed with Heritage Lottery/Matched Funding, the event was expected to be open to those who had contributed to the displays and to the project overall and even possibly the public, The timing of the event however was not apparently circulated with the result that many did not attend. Despite this faux pas the visitor centre is now open to the public during the day. We popped in shortly after the opening and although locked at the time, a willing person soon emerged from the winter gloom to let us in. Inside there are numerous display boards detailing various aspects of the history of source waters from the Malvern Hills. In addition there is a collection of bottles which give an insight into the history of bottling. In our last newsletter we advised that bottling had recommenced on site after a break of several decades. Although bottling was not in progress when we were there we were able to see the new bottling plant through a viewing window. It is well worth a look in if you are passing and possibly having a chat with the father and son proprietors, Mike and Rhys Humm.

Malvern Hills Study now on line

In the 1990s an important study was commissioned by the University of Sussex on tourism and the Sussex Downs. This was particularly is response to the proposition that the Sussex Downs should once more be considered for National Park status. Part of the study included a case study of tourism development in the Malvern Hills and the formation of the Malvern Spa Tourism Association in 1992.  Issues raised within the case study included the past alleged secrecy of the Malvern Hills Conservators and the alleged imprisonment of the local Tourism Officer.  We can now look back on those times and see how things have changed. The findings of the study were a major contributing factor in the eventual decision that the Sussex Downs was to be part of the new South Downs National Park. The Malvern Spa Tourism Association has transmogrified into the Malvern Spa Association.  The former difficult state of Malvern Tourism marketing has been resolved by evolution and many former views on countryside tourism and its development have changed with circumstances. In spite of this the original study still has a major relevance and for those interested it is now on line. Have a look by clicking on the Susex armorial above.

Here is a picture of Earl Beauchamp's Fountain in Cowleigh Road after it was renovated last year. What do you think of the application of a cast iron gutter hopper to cover the spout? Do you agree that the vintage hopper enhances the appearance and use of the fountain? Give us your views following a mixed reception for the innovation.

Ellerslie original plaques now in care of Malvern Museum

Some years ago, in the early 1990s, we thought we had found the site of a disused omnibus stop, and decided it was an odd place to dump two gravestones. A bit later we discovered that it was the Ellerslie Fountain! Believing that the 'gravestones' were perhaps an integral part of the fountain we rubbed them over with paper and heelball and found that they carried watery messages. Ellerslie Fountain has recently been restored with Heritage Lottery/Matched Funding and the badly decayed stones replaced. The originals, which date back to the early 1860s, are now in the care of Malvern Museum.

LAST PHOTO CALL

As our plans for the mulberry tree planting celebrations some time in the future proceed we are also pursuing the publication of our new book on 130 Malvern Springs and Wells and water bottling in the hills. Hopefully we will be able to launch the new book at the same time as the planting. There are a few big surprises for everybody in the book. Before we finalise the content we ask::- do you have any vintage unusual or particularly interesting photographs or drawings of the springs & wells that have not been commercially reproduced and that might be used in the book?  If so, we would love to hear from you.

If you fancy an adventure on the Hills in mid winter, to get there, turn left at the front of St Ann's Well and take the path that runs above the turf-roofed toilet block. This takes you on the eastern side of the hills with a magnificent view over the town. At the first 'junction' take the small path upwards. Follow this path until the next junction and turn right, doubling back on yourself at a higher level. After approximately 200 metres you will see the spring in a rocky outcrop on your left.