LORD OF MALVERN CHASE

Recently I was in Great Malvern and visited the priory church in the centre of town. It is known for its 15th century stained glass, including the West Window which was commissioned by Richard Duke of Gloucester and his wife Anne. Although the original Doom/Day of Judgement scene in Richard’s window is no longer visible, the glass having been scattered in fragments throughout the other windows of the priory, it is still possible, if one knows where to look, to pick out Richard’s white boar, his arms with two very damaged boar supports, and Anne’s arms with two bear supports.
After visiting, I wondered what Richard’s connection with the town might be, and soon learned he was in fact Lord of Malvern Chase, a wide, forested area stretching from the Malvern Hills to the Severn in Worcestershire to the banks of the Teme in Herefordshire. These lands came to him through Anne’s inheritance.
Although it is not certain if/when he actually visited the town, he must have thought it important enough to commission such a large and no doubt costly window in the priory. It was nice to theorize about potential journeys by Richard and Anne to this beautiful, hilly area, still retaining its old Celtic name Moel Bryn, the Bald or Bare Hill—perhaps to hunt in the Chase, or visit one of the several holy wells in the area, Holywell (which was on Richard’s manor of Hanley) or St Ann’s Well. The oratory of the martyred St Werstan is thought to have been located near the latter and later incorporated into a now-vanished chapel, St Michael’s. When a cottage was demolished near this site last century, a medieval undercroft, broken coffin and human bones were found. One of the stunning 15th C windows in Great Malvern Priory depicts the story of St. Werstan and his martyrdom.
St Ann’s Well was also particularly well known in the 15th century as a healing well, which might have been of interest to the Duke of Gloucester and his wife. There was also the Eye Well and the Hay Well, and probably others in the area.
Just down the road from Great Malvern is another place that might have been of some poignancy to Anne. This is Little Malvern Priory, thought by many to be the ‘poor religious house’ where Margaret of Anjou fled with Anne after the Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury. It also has some fine 15thc glass of Edward IV and his family.