The History of St Wulstan's Church in Little Malvern
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A quarter of a mile away is Little Malvern Court, originally a Benedictine monastery with its adjacent Priory Church, reduced at the Reformation to the chancel and tower of the original building which now form the local Anglican parish church.
Little Malvern Court was in Catholic Recusant ownership until the 20th century, had a priest's hole during penal times and later a chapel for local Catholics. By the middle of the 19th century this was becoming too small for the local Catholic congregation and so, in 1862, a new church, St Wulstan’s, was built nearby. It is probable that the Catholic Mass has been celebrated at Little Malvern every Sunday since the Reformation. The main church was built in 1862 with the Baptistery being added some years later. The land was made available by the Berington family of Little Malvern Court. In the original design there was the intention to have an apse behind the main altar but this was never built as there would not have been enough support for the foundations needed. The fabric of the church had been neglected during the latter part of the 20th century and in 1996 a restoration fund was started. In 2004 a major refurbishment project was commenced which included replacing the roof and much restoration work to the inside of the church. The original roof beams, typical of many churches in Malvern, luckily survived the neglect and can be seen today. This task cost over a third of a million pounds. Restoration work still continues. |
An early photograph of St Wulstan's church. The building to the left became St Richard's School for many years but has been a private residence since the 1960's.
An old print showing the sanctuary with the original wooden altar at the rear. This was replaced in 1962 with the marble altar and altar rails we have today.
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