West Malvern is a village and a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
on the west side of the north part of the
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit aff ...
, on the western edge of
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
, England. It has become effectively a suburb of
Malvern and part of an urban area often called ''The Malverns'', locally administered by
Malvern Hills District Council and its own
parish council. Its altitude up to 250 metres gives West Malvern panoramic views of the
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...
countryside to the west. The Church of
St James, built in 1840, has an adjacent
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
primary school. The churchyard includes the grave of
Peter Mark Roget
Peter Mark Roget ( ; 18 January 1779 – 12 September 1869) was a British physician, natural theologian, lexicographer and founding secretary of The Portico Library. He is best known for publishing, in 1852, the '' Thesaurus of English Word ...
, author of ''
Roget's Thesaurus
''Roget's Thesaurus'' is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer.
History
It was released to the public on 29 April 1852. Roget was ...
'', who died while on holiday in the village. The 2011 Census population of 1,385 was estimated at 1,263 in 2019.
Culture
Since 2005 West Malvern has hosted an annual one-day
music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...
West Fest. In years when West Fest makes a profit the committee distributes grants "to support community action, cultural development, training or to meet special needs." From the profits of West Fest 2008 "a total of £7,150 was distributed" in the Malvern Hills area to 2nd Malvern Link Brownies,
the Theatre of Small Convenience, West Malvern Sean Éireann McMahon Academy (Irish dancing), West Malvern Cricket Club, Malvern Mencap, St James Primary School, Leapfrogs Playgroup, and Malvern Access Group. There has also been a regular weekly acoustic music session in the village each Sunday evening since 1996.
On 20–22 August 2010 a visual arts festival was held in the village, in support of the Malvern Hills Community Foundation, in a variety of venues including the
Regents Theological College, St James's Church, St James Primary School, and the Brewers Arms pub. Local garages, gazebos, and even garden walls and railings were also used to display artworks. The event, which is intended to become annual, was modelled on a similar arts festival at
Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei in Normandy, France.
Landmarks
The Malvern Hills area is well known for its
Malvern water and there are several springs and wells in West Malvern including Westminster Bank Spout, St James Churchyard Basin, West Malvern Tap, Hayslad, Royal Well, and Ryland's Well and St Thomas' Well.
There were quarries around West Malvern including Dingle and several more.
Hayslad Spout, West Malvern.jpg, Hayslad Spout after a well dressing festival
Transport
Rail
The nearest railway stations are
Malvern Link (for the northern end of the parish) and
Colwall (for the southern end), both on the
Cotswold Line between
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...
and
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
.
Bus
Local bus services connect West Malvern with the surrounding area.
Local transport. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
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References
External links
West Malvern Parish CouncilWest Malvern Hall and VillageVision of Britain Historical recordHistorical photos of West Malvern quarriesWest Malvern Village web site
{{authority control
Villages in Worcestershire
Civil parishes in Worcestershire