Great Malvern is one of those sites that receives a comparatively low number of visitors from other countries while having a lot to offer. The surrounding region is breathtaking, and the town itself was formerly famous for its spa. Great Malvern is well-known around the world for its porcelain, yearly music and theatre festivals, Malvern water, and Morgan automobiles. Malvern Wells and Little Malvern are located to the south of Great Malvern; North Malvern is located to the north; and Malvern Link is located to the north east of Great Malvern. Great Malvern is the largest of the six communities that make up the Malvern Hills.
Even after the medicinal benefits of its spring waters were found, it took Great Malvern a long time to become a fashionable spa town. The town was known as Great Malvern for many centuries, but throughout that period it was a peaceful and poorly recognised location with a priory in the middle.
The town of Great Malvern may be found at the base of the Malvern Hills, and its streets wind their way steeply up the lower slopes. The city that exists today had its beginnings in a priory that was established in the 11th century and lasted until Henry VIII’s destruction of the monasteries. The priory’s church was the only part of the priory to survive, and it is now used as a church for the local community.
The surrounding hills give the city of Malvern a steep slope, which makes it difficult to navigate the city centre. This is especially true for Church Street, which is one of the two main streets, and Edith Walk, which runs parallel to Church Street and was formerly a small dirt lane.
Despite the fact that Great Malvern is crawling with tourists for the better part of the year, the town has managed to keep its dignity and elegance by maintaining its wide open spaces, tree-lined avenues, and lovely residences.
Villas and hotels that date back to the Victorian and Edwardian eras may be found in abundance in Malvern. The majority of them were constructed by affluent Birmingham families at the time of the Industrial Revolution, when Malvern was a flourishing spa town.
Near the beginning of the pedestrian walkway that runs through Malvern, on a route that leads up from the town, there is a Regency cottage that holds a source of the famed water called St. Anne’s Well. Here, you may get a sample of the water while taking in the sights all about you.
During the early part of the 19th century, construction began on hotels, spas, and a pump room. By the middle of the century, the introduction of a railway made the area more accessible.
The Great Malvern Railway Station is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Victorian station design. On the line that runs from Worcester to Hereford, the station, which is a historic edifice, is still in use today. The previously used waiting area is now decorated in the style of an old-fashioned tea parlour.
The Priory Church of Santa Maria e San Michele is an impressive structure that may be seen in the middle of the hamlet. It includes windows, the west of which was a gift from Richard III, and the east of which was a gift from Henry VII, and it contains a beautiful collection of stained glass windows from the 15th century.
The Museum Malvern is located inside the Abbey Gateway, which dates back to the 14th century and features enormous wooden pillars in its arch. The museum is open from Easter through the end of October and has displays on the geology of the Malvern Hills, the history of Malvern’s spring water, and the evolution of Morgan automobiles.
Tanhouse Lane is the location of the Boehm factory in Malvern. The illustrious American Edward Marshall Boehm established the facility, which is now renowned across the globe for the superior quality of the porcelain it produces.
Malvern has a rich creative and cultural history, which is partly due to the legacies left behind by Sir Edward Elgar and George Bernard Shaw. Additionally, performances at Malvern theatres sometimes compete favourably with those on London’s West End.