May 2010

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.

Hot Springs Arkansas spearheads coin collecting with Fountain design.

In Newsletter No.14 (now available on-line) there are details of our field trip to Hot Springs Arkansas and Malvern, Arkansas, the gateway town to this US national park.

Beginning in 2010, the United States Mint will issue 56 quarter-dollar coins featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites. The five quarters in 2010 will honour in release order: Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. Each coin in the series features a common obverse (heads side) with the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan. There will be five new national site designs each year. The United States Mint will issue these quarters in the order in which each location was first established as a national site.  This programme follows a similar series depicting US States and Territories issued during the first decade of the 21^st century. This project generated massive enthusiasm for collecting the full set with up to half of the entire population participating. By taking the collected coins out of circulation this in turn has generated an enormous income for the US federal government of 4.6 billion dollars

With the creation of the new Sussex Downs National Park in Great Britain is this not an idea that could be replicated to advantage here? With our argument that The Malvern Hills are Britain's original National Park albeit not named as such, we look forward to collecting all 16 of the series. The big question is - which spring or well will the Malvern Hills coin feature?

Good News for Dr Grindrod's Fountain.

In Friends Newsletter 28 we highlighted the plight of Dr Grindrod's Fountain, which has lost its crowning arch of brickwork. The Malvern Gazette followed this up with editorial and we were delighted to read in the 5 February edition that the fountain will not be further disturbed. Lyn Murtagh of the college has indicated that the fountain has been fenced into the housemistress' private garden, which is part of Malvern College's newly- and delightfully-built students' hall of residence. The fountain itself is undamaged and the housemistress has recently assured Cora and members of the Civic Society that the fountain's surround will be restored to put this mid-nineteenth century spa heritage back in good order. Hopefully the outcome will be positive, although the question of public access is unresolved. Thank you to Robert Hale of the Gazette and others for taking up the matter.

Newsletter Archive Creates New Interest

In our last Newsletter we indicated that the past Newsletters are now on our web site as a searchable archive. This has already created a lot of attention and as an example we received the following communication about Newsletter 17 of April 2007. 'I saw in one of your Newsletters on your web site a short article on Walton Spa at Tewkesbury. I am a distant ancestor of the original owner of Walton House who first had the idea of creating a Spa there in the late 18^th century. I have done some research on this and also the Tewkesbury Historical Society has some bits and pieces of information.' We have asked for details so that we can include an update in a future Newsletter.

Stimulated by the interest in the archive we have now listed the contents of each newsletter. To see what is in each, go to www.malvernspa.com and click on Newsletter Archive. Run your mouse pointer over the booklet icons and the contents should show for each Newsletter. We can only get the contents to show for a few seconds at the moment. But if you move the mouse pointer and then return it, the list reappears, alternatively refresh the page.

Australians turn up to inspect Mulberry Tree Cuttings.

We were delighted to receive a brief visit from Anne and Neil Thomas from Melbourne Australia in April. This was the couple who located the Mulberry Tree in Malvern Australia, which had been sent from England as a sapling from George Bernard Shaw's original tree in Priory Park. On their way to Holland they stopped off and were delighted to find one of the six saplings starting to grow leaves with the onset of the English spring weather. For more information on the Mulberry Tree project go to our dedicated web site by clicking on the WEB SITE INDEX on the green panel top left.

Trip to Marienbad

Would any Friends be interested in a trip to Marienbad (Marianske Lazne) in the Czech Republic in April 2011?  This is an idea that we suggested in our earlier Newsletter No.21 following an editorial detailing this famous international spa in Newsletter 20. Both Newsletters are available on-line for those who want to have a quick recap. The idea is to orchestrate a coach tour across Europe, probably about 10 days in total; with up to half the time spent enjoying the history, heritage and modern presentation of this spectacular spa resort. Let us know if you might be interested merely so that we can gauge the degree of support for such an idea.

If you would like to learn more about Marienbad go to the green panel top left and do a key word search for Marienbad. This search will enable you to access the Marienbad data pages as well as the two Friends Newsletter 21 and 20.

Florence Nightingale and the Water Cure by Cora Weaver

Florence Nightingale's first visit to Malvern was in 1848 when she came with her mother, and described how she entered the village of Malvern 'through a Triumphal arch of wet sheets and an avenue of flannels...'  During the Crimean War she became extremely ill with Crimean Fever, now thought to have been brucellosis, and came to Malvern a further nine times. Malvern was her hospital and Dr Walter Johnson her chief physician, who almost certainly saved her life. This book contains much previously unpublished information about Florence Nightingale and the Malvern Water Cure found in her own letters and those of her family. The letters tell the story of when she came to Malvern, how she felt at the time of her visits, where she stayed, which members of the family came with her, where they stayed, who Florence saw, and what she did.

The book is the result of a year's intensive research involving reading many published works and hours of labour poring over bundles of letters at the Wellcome Library in London, the British Library, and the archive at Claydon House in Buckinghamshire where Florence's sister lived after her marriage to Sir Harry Verney.

The book has 88 pages and 29 illustrations, some never seen before,  and will be on sale U.K price 7 pounds 95 pence including post and packing from Cora.

The British National Parks web site has an interesting Florence Nightingale trail which includes Malvern and Harrogate Spas.  To discover the trail go to our WEB SITE INDEX or do a key word search for Nightingale from the green panel above left.

Annual Legendary Coach Tour

We have been asked why there was no coach tour planned for the May Day well decorating this year. The answer is simple: we had many other commitments following an overseas springs & wells field trip. Sorry about that but there is always 2011.

Fifty percent increase in Parking Charges on All Fools Day         

Along with many things that are destined to increase in price, Malvern Hills Conservators are increasing their car parking charges. The normal day rate rose from 2 pounds to 3 pounds from 1^st April. This has an impact on people visiting our springs and wells because the car parks could cost more. There are two ways of looking at this. The money goes to fund the excellent work of the Conservators which includes the care of numerous springs and wells sites, which is good. Alternatively a 50% increase at a time when we are all having to tighten our belts shows a disregard particularly for people on limited income who enjoy the hills as a valuable low cost recreation resource. The Conservators have not put the parking up for 7 years. If you look at charges in National Parks like the Yorkshire Dales, it is 6 pounds per day and if you look at National Trust it is on average around 4 pounds. However no one likes paying for car parks so why not encourage people to come by public transport and walk around the hills. 

Good news for visitors exploring Springs and Wells however - Ian Rowat from the Conservators points out that the ticket allows you to use any of the Conservators' car parks around the Hills on that day. This is particularly convenient for those who like to tour round the Hills but equally applies to those visiting the water features. So 3 pounds for 8 hours entertainment should give enough change to buy - Aquae Malvernensis!

Thermal Springs in Cornwall?

The United Kingdom has very few thermal springs, Buxton, Bath, Matlock and one in Wales. Abroad they are taken for granted and are utilised for a variety of leisure and health activities. Imagine our surprise when we came up with evidence of hitherto unappreciated thermal springs in Cornwall. Philosophical Magazine Series 4 Vol. 46 of 1873 published a map of the thermal springs in Cornwall, identifying 4 sites as follows: Clifford Amalgamated Mine, North Reskear Mine, Wheal Seaton Mine and North Gelty Mine. These are all in the Redruth area. Local investigation confirms that the area has been totally destroyed by the mining operations of the past, with subsequent housing and commercial development. Water was a major problem to the mines and would have been pumped away using addits and culverts. Any thermal waters would likely have been lost as a result. What a pity the thermal waters are not in the Malvern Hills!  

Forthcoming New Book - Celebrated Springs of the Malvern Hills

We now have the initial indications as to the likely size and contents of the book. It will be A4 portrait format. The word count at the moment is about 85,000 with about 300 illustrations. This makes the book about 1 inch thick and will be, hopefully, in full colour. This substantial volume will be a limited edition at a price still to be ascertained. The new book will provide additional historic and site detail to that previously published, rather than repeat what has gone before. It will also include a chapter on water bottling. As such it will compliment but not replace the information first published in Aquae Malvernensis (1994).

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

If we were to have a remake of that classic Western film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but this time have it set in Malvern during its spa heyday, which doctors might be the subjects of our perusals? We have many to choose from, including doctors Ayerst, Balbirnie, Dawson, Fernie, C. Grindrod, R.B Grindrod, Gully, E. Johnson, H. Johnson, W, Johnson, Nicols, Rayner and Wilson.

Surely The Good must be Dr R. B Grindrod. Not only was he a temperance reformer saving men and women from the ruinous effects of over-indulgence, but he saved lives and futures by healing with water.  He never turned his back on the poor, and for many years entertained schoolchildren in the extensive and finely-manicured grounds of Townshend House, and also hosted the annual treat for the uneducated, hard-working donkey boys.

The Bad, in true film style, will be allotted fictitious names. There was Dr Greenstic, who signed the death certificate for a young woman's baby. It transpired that the baby was his!  Then there was Dr Ecksimar who retired from practice and headed for London - leaving his wife and family behind. He took with him the object of his affections, the laundress's daughter, and set her up as a boarding house proprietor. Then there was Dr Alopeash, who retired from his water cure practise and followed his mistress to South London and was caught up in a murder inquest and scandal of national interest.

The Ugly must refer to the dreadful saga of Dr Marsden's daughters who were so cruelly treated by their French governess that Lucy died, while her sisters took some time to recover from malnourishment and their dreadful treatment.  The governess was tried in Paris and acquitted, but a second trial found her guilty and she was incarcerated in prison.

Do you have any other suggestions that might fit any of these categories?

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