May 2012

A new way of exploring the springs and wells on the hills is being planned. On the 8 June it is proposed to launch the Gateway project with an afternoon celebratory event. This will take the form of a conducted leisurely stroll, culminating in refreshments at the Mount Pleasant Hotel. The walk will commence from the front entrance of the Winter Gardens (Malvern Theatres) in Grange Road at 2.30 pm. Then winding its way past many places of interest around Malvern it will proceed to the Mount Pleasant Hotel and the Hills themselves. It will include an optional stroll to St Ann's Well after visiting the Mount Pleasant at about 3.30 pm for tea and to learn how the hotel will provide a vital Gateway visitor facility in the future. The walk will be conducted by Cora Weaver and Bruce Osborne of Friends of Malvern Springs and Wells. Tickets are 3 pounds from TIC or pay on the day subject to availability.

The Gateway project is being developed in conjunction with the Malvern Hills District Council scheme Route to the Hills. The launch walk is part of the Civic Week celebrations in Malvern. This event is sponsored by the Mount Pleasant Hotel.

In the picture - The Mount Pleasant, ideally located as the Gateway to the Hills.

For further information go to www.malvernwaters.co.uk  and keyword search for 'Gateway'

GOLD MINE - NEW EVIDENCE  - Thar's Gold in them thar Malvern 'ills.

As early as Elizabethan times there was believed rich mineral wealth to be had in the Malvern Hills. The 1633 enclosure map of Malvern Chase shows a spring rising at 'The Gould Pitt' (now known as The Gold Mine, 350m north of the Wyche Cutting), and its stream running west from St Thomas's Well, where the Royal Malvern brewery and bottling works was later built, and down the Purlieu. Between 1711 and 1721, a William Williams of Bristol and a Doctor Dudley spent 600 pounds sinking a deep shaft of 220 feet with a 240 foot level (horizontal passage) to supposedly find gold in the Malvern Hills. Daniel Defoe between 1724-7 had noted the gold mine a little north of the Wyche cutting, by then abandoned. He commented 'they talk much of Mines of Gold and Silver, which are certainly to be found here....' He observed that if there was such wealth it was likely 'it lies too deep for this idle generation to find'.

The question arises is there winnable gold in the Malvern Hills? Were these early prospectors deceived by the glittering mica in the rocks? The belief of gold in the Malvern Hills was supposedly disproved in the 19th century; albeit the rumour of gold being found in small quantities perpetuates. PIcture - California Gold Rush stamp - could this have been a similar scene to The Purlieu, West Malvern?

However the story now has a 21st century twist. In our exploration of the springs and wells for Celebrated Springs of the Malvern Hills we noted what is generally described as a well shaft in the woods on the northern side of the Purlieu. The picture on our web site shows the shaft near the Limekilns. The logic for digging a well at this point does not stand up to scrutiny because there is much more easily obtainable water nearby. Comparison with other similar sites elsewhere suggests that the shaft is possibly an old mine, with the formerly buried covering, now rotted and collapsed. The proximity to the legendary gold workings prompts the hypothesis that this may be a gold mine.

During the days of the gold rushes, both in the United States and in Australia, the last thing you did was tell anyone when you struck gold. Not only did it attract speculative prospectors, it also attracted thieves, rogues and vagabonds all out to cash in on easy pickings, not to mention the opium dens and bordellos. Also in the case of Malvern, the lord of the manor or the Crown may demand the mineral rights dues. Was West Malvern on the verge of becoming a gold rush town in the 19th century?  Only the dispelling of the belief or perhaps a wall of silence, concerning possible gold deposits prompted economic activity to be focussed on other commercial enterprises such as Malvern Waters and the Water Cure and of course general stone quarrying.

There has understandably been a lack of hard evidence over the centuries about the existence of Malvern gold; that is up until now. Pursuing investigations further we have now actually acquired samples of supposedly natural Malvern gold dating from the 19th century. These samples are being investigated further. This new evidence will be vital in establishing the credibility of the legend of gold in them thar 'ills.

For many more details go into www.malvernwaters.co.uk and keyword search for 'Gold Mine' or click on the stamp above..

Shepherd's Well - Fitzjohn's Avenue, Hampstead (TQ 2662 8524)

In the last Newsletter we asked if any readers knew where the well that we illustrated was. The Malvern Gazette also published the enquiry. We had numerous responses, one of which has led to the discovery of an amazing, long forgotten Malvern water feature. The picture turns out to be in Hampstead, London and in use during the first half of the 19^th century. The Shepherd's well, also known as The Conduit, provided a source of good quality soft drinking water for the residents of Hampstead. The walk to the nearest road meant that water carriers sold water by the pail or two pails because of the yoke needed for carrying the water. The spring never froze and only very rarely ran dry. A plaque on the corner of Fitzjohn's Avenue and Lyndhurst Road marks the position of the well or close to it as its exact position is in the middle of the road. The last of the water-carriers died an inmate of the workhouse at New End about 1868. (See: Foord A S. 1910 Springs, Streams and Spas of London, pub. Fisher Unwin. p.151.) Perhaps Malvern residents will all be resorting to buckets of water soon in the light of the apparent water shortages!

A modern day reminder can be seen by going to http://www.flickr.com/photos/tetramesh/6260473338/

 

In this picture from Punch in 1917, the War Wounded are to be seen at the top listening to the dulcet tones which are generated by tuning forks rather than strings.

This advertisement for a Dulcitone was discovered in a copy of Punch dated 3 October 1917. The Dulcitone is like a piano, except that it sounds like a harp and has tuning forks instead of strings. This means that the instrument never needs tuning. Another advantage is its weight, which at about 50lbs., means that it's easy to move from one place to another.

For approximately 50 years (c.1883-1934), Blind George Pullen played his Dulcitone at St Ann's Well for the myriad visitors who came every year. He played even when the hills were covered with snow.  The picture shows Blind George at St Ann's Well. By 1883 the water cure era was over, but many people still came for the fresh air cure.

In 1967 Mr and Mrs Hull took over the tenancy of St Ann's Well. Visitor numbers had steadily declined with the disappearance of the donkeys at the start of the Second World War, and the proliferation in the 1960s of the motor car, which enabled people to travel further afield for their weekend amusement. In February 1971 Mr Hull asked for an organ to be installed at St Ann's Well so that music could be played there on Sunday afternoons and Bank Holidays. The Malvern Hills Conservators voted 13 to 1 against the proposal. That was in the days when Good Friday and Sundays were still special days - when shops closed and many people attended church. Times have changed; would the Conservators make the same decision today? Would today's tenant want organ music?

Some years ago Malvern Museum was presented with Blind George's Dulcitone. It is a piece of Malvern's bygone social heritage and can be seen upstairs in the Water Cure Room. Once or twice a year the keyboard springs into life for performances inside the museum or under the archway during the Heritage Weekends. This year that's 8th and 9th September. Come along and listen, and if you can play, ask to play.

Malvern Waters on the Town Coat of Arms.

We were exploring the water symbols on the town arms and came up with some interesting information. The two red lions walking with forked tails are taken from the arms of the earls Beauchamp. The cross is taken from the arms of the ancient See of Westminster, suppressed in 1540, and alludes to the mediaeval connections between the priory of Great Malvern and Westminster Abbey, of which the priory was a cell. The two heraldic fountains flanking the cross indicate the Malvern waters. The stag, in natural colours, represents Malvern Chase. The pear tree in fruit has been adopted from the arms of Worcestershire County Council; it recalls the traditional pear tree re-planting ceremony at Worcester on a visit by Queen Elizabeth I.

And just in case you are wondering - the motto means 'I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills'.

The arms were originally granted in 1951.

In the first 2012 issue of Newseum, Malvern Museum's newsletter, Paul Backhouse writes on the evidence that authenticates a religious establishment in Malvern before the Norman Conquest of 1066. The sources considered appear to have been Brian Smith's book (1964) and Victoria County History (c1901). Summarising Backhouse; Odda of Deerhurst had inherited land in the vicinity of Malvern from his father Aelfhere in 938 AD. Intending to restore the inherited land to religious establishments, he likely granted land to a new religious establishment in the Malverns. Odda died in 1056 and so Edward the Confessor took Odda's lands and bestowed them on a new religious foundation at Westminster Abbey. When Edward the Confessor died, his wife Edith retained an interest in the lands until her death in 1075. Thereafter Westminster could take full control of its lands in Worcestershire, including the new religious establishment.

So what of St Werstan the founding father of Malvern? It is of note that Backhouse endorses the idea of a pre-conquest religious establishment in the Malverns and this inevitably raises the question: founded by who? Backhouse, in his article however dismisses the claim that St Werstan fled Deerhurst before being murdered sometime before the conquest. In 'The Illumination of St Werstan the Martyr' (published 2006), the legend of St Werstan is considered in greater detail. As a result the legend is remodelled in the light of re-examining the evidence and concluded to be similar but not identical to the traditional legend. St Werstan was the founding father of Malvern and was murdered, not by the Danes, but by the Celts in the 1050s. His hermitage was below St Ann's Well where the house Bello Squardo now stands.

Other research carried out since Smith and the Victoria County History were published includes that of Werstan's life as presented by Dr Heather Gilderdale Scott of the Courtald Institute of Art in April 2009 at Deerhurst, from where Werstan originated. (see Friends Newsletter No. 26 of June 2009) She pointed out that the Founders Windows featuring St Werstan are in a bold and central position in Malvern Priory, signifying that his memory was particularly important. Heather went further and hypothesised that, since the St Westan legend was so 'skilful and sophisticated'; it had been emphasised for political reasons some time in the later medieval period. She linked the motivation for this to Westminster, which makes sense in view of the historic links of that religious establishment to Malvern and the claims on the Malvern religious establishment by Worcester.

The problem that this debate illustrates is the difficulty that all historians have in securing the complete picture. Where research has been conducted and the results published some time ago, it is important to ensure that all subsequent findings are taken into account before conclusions are drawn. We know for example that Smith got it wrong when he said the Hay Well Baths were demolished to build the Baptist Church. Had others not blindly accepted this hypothesis, the Hay Well Baths, which were actually demolished unrecognised in the year 2000 would be with us today as a treasured listed building. (see Friends Newsletter No. 38 of August 2011).  Fortunately St Werstan's involvement with the founding of Malvern is now generally recognised and he is immortalised as patron saint of our springs and wells.

Well Decorating 2012 reminder

The theme for the forthcoming well decorating this year is 'Achievement'. This will take place over the May Day bank Holiday weekend and we look forward to seeing our springs and wells decorated, hopefully to the high standards achieved in previous years.  Who will win the top prize for a decorated well - watch this spot?

1) TOPOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:

3) INFORMATION CATEGORY: