A Visitors Guide to Malvern

Malvern is a well known tourist town in the English county of Worcestershire. It is governed by the Malvern Hills District council and comprises of seven districts: Barnards Green, Great Malvern, Little Malvern, Malvern Link, Malvern Wells, North Malvern and West Malvern.

The centrepiece of Malvern town is the Great Malvern Priory which is its oldest building. It was built in 1085 and was originally home to 30 monks. After 1541 the monastery ceased to exist although the decaying building still stood. It was purchased by local residents and since then it became the parish church. Much of the present building is 16th century in origin although it has been refurbished periodically over the centuries. The stained glass windows of the Great Malvern Priory date from the medieval period but with 16th and 19th century inclusions.

Malvern is situated beside the Malvern Hills which are deemed an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is named after one of its hills; Moel Bryn which is translated as 'Bare Hill'. The pronunciation later became Maelfern which was then corrupted to Malvern.

The Malvern Hills are today protected landscape although in the past they did not enjoy this privilege. They were extensively used for stone quarrying and ancient scars are still visible in them. Despite this, the Malvern Hills are not lacking in drama and they provide a much loved haunt for walkers and hikers. The hills are mainly granite rock covered with thin soils and short grasses. The foothills are lush and are forested with a variety of traditional British trees. The rivers Severn and Teme trace their course through the hills and from the summits the rivers form part of the spectacular views below.

Malvern is famed for its springs of which there are many dotted throughout the region. The most celebrated is the St Ann's Well. The area was much frequented by Victorian visitors who had a great belief in the healing properties of the waters. By the mid 1800's spa houses were being established. Many notables visited for its waters including Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin and Bernard Shaw. It is thought that it was the spring waters that led to the early settlements of Malvern in ancient times. The water is still highly valued today and is available on supermarket shelves as bottled mineral water.