Priory Conservation Management Plan
Our Conservation Management Plan sets out the context for repairs…
and development of the Priory building.
It describes the setting of the Priory, its special significance from architectural and art historical perspectives, the condition of the fabric, issues with the current ordering, and our aspirations and progress for a major project to repair and develop the building to meet 21st century needs.
To read the fascinating document in full, download it here.
Levelling the Floor - why? how?
When the box pews were removed in the 1860s they left the 4” high plinths in place…
…and visitors and worshippers had been tripping up over them or falling off them ever since! It was particularly difficult for people using wheelchairs.
The plinths also restricted the use of the building for community concerts and Altogether Worship and for Lifepath, too.
To enable the levelling work to be carried out in 2024, the Levelling the Floor Fundraising Group arranged a series of fundraising events. ‘Take to the Floor’, a talent show in April 2022, which included Rod, the then Vicar, the Hand Bell Team and many of the congregation of all ages, was a wonderful gathering after the separation imposed by Covid.
Large audiences enjoyed the world premiere of Denise Armon-Jones ‘Lux Feminae’ in May which explored life during the sacking of the monastery during the 16th Century, through the eyes of a fictional woman, Mary Daniels.
November 2022 saw the Auction of Promises headed up by Martin Roberts from ‘Homes under the Hammer’ as auctioneer, which raised over £11,000. Bidding was particularly strong for a dish of beef lasagne.
Rita Corke (our former Vicar’s wife) took to the skies, wing walking to raise funds for the floor lowering project, raising over £6,000
In January 2024 with the floor work underway, the final fundraising event took place - a Quiz Night, with supper, which was enjoyed by a great mix of Priory folk and their friends.
But fundraising still continues - three enterprising members of the congregation are converting timber from the old floor into beautiful gifts, with every penny raised going towards the floor fund.
Handmade oak crosses, coasters, dice, candle holders and nativities are available from the Priory Shop.
The opportunity to own a little bit of Priory history has proved extremely popular and over £1,000 has already been raised.
Priory Talent, raising funds - ‘Take to the Floor’
Auction of Promises November 2022
Rita’s Wing Walk May 2023
Priory recycled oak gifts
The Floor Levelling work
began on 4th January 2024…
…and ended on Easter Sunday, when the beautiful, new, level, floor was completed on schedule by the skilled craftsmen of Reynolds Conservation Ltd.
The floor levelling work, whilst the 10.30am congregation worshipped in the Chapel at Malvern College, was fully documented in the Blog but some highlights included…
…the activities of the Priory Benedictine Bakers, who provided two much-appreciated home-baked cakes each week for the workers.
…the intricate underfloor heating (which will be powered by an air-source heat pump as soon as funds permit) which provides a wonderful gentle background heat right where it’s needed.
…the placing of a time capsule, in February, by some of the congregation and Rod. It contains over 70 documents painting a portrait of Priory life and times in 2024…not to be opened before 2124. If you want to stand on the spot, above the time capsule, have a word with the Custos, when you visit.
…the delight of everyone - visitors, concert-goers and congregation alike - many of whom still automatically step with care over the step that’s no longer there!
Thank you to all those who supported the Floor Fundraising Group’s Events and to the Charitable Trusts for their generosity.
The same, but better - level and warm
Workers enjoy cake from the Priory Benedictine Bakers
The time capsule is placed beneath the new nave floor
The Creation Window
An extraordinary, priceless, unique survivor of English Mediaeval craftmanship…
the finest in any parish church, second only to the stained glass in York Minister. And entrusted to us to preserve for generations to come.
The 33 stained glass panels in St Anne’s chapel are all that remain of a 72-panel Old Testament series made for the six, high, clerestory windows of the nave. They were moved to St Anne’s Chapel in the early 1860s and in 1910 releaded, but not cleaned.
They depict Creation in the first window, Noah and Abraham in the second and Isaac, Joseph and Moses in the third.
Their gloriously bright colours and intricate detail brought the Bible stories to life - see God’s bare foot as he creates the earth - at a time when few could read, or have access to books. And they still speak to us today.
In 2015 all the Mediaeval glass at the Priory was surveyed by the York Glaziers Trust. They reported that it has a high priority conservation status and is in a perilous state. Historic England, in placing Great Malvern Priory on the Heritage at Risk Register notes ‘there is a major problem with the stained glass which needs urgent repair.’
Following support from Headley Trust, the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass and the Friends of Malvern Priory, the Creation window has been restored and protected.
The glass was removed by York Glaziers Trust in early November 2022 to be taken to their studio for cleaning and repair. In Spring 2023 the stonework around the window opening was repaired by craftspeople from Sally Strachey Historic Conservation - see the Blog for further details. The window was returned in April/May 2023 and placed behind specialist environmental protective glazing. New details not seen for maybe over 100 years are now visible and the window is conserved for future generations.
The Community Engagement Team at the Priory are delighted to have formed a partnership with the Digital Media Department at the Heart of Worcestershire College Department of Computing and Digital Media. The students are using the conservation of the Creation Window as the basis of a team project. Their report, by James Preston-Lemon can be found here.
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth’ Genesis 1 v1
The Creation window, St Anne’s Chapel.
Photo (c) York Glaziers Trust
The final panel of the Creation window is removed for conservation by York Glaziers Trust experts.
Stonework Repairs
National Lottery Heritage Fund support…
totalling £83,400, in addition to generous support from the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation in association with Church Care, the Droitwich Preservation Trust and the Friends of Malvern Priory enabled urgent works to be completed on the North Porch.
Specialist cleaning, repairs and replacement of badly corroded stone has secured this important entrance to the Priory. Cleaning revealed previously unknown red paint on the Normandy limestone canopy above the statue, dating from the early 1500s.
The full report on the works can be found here.
Crumbling carved detail and blackened stone above the entrance which was cleaned and restored.
Priory North Porch after restoration
With grateful thanks to…
Priory Development Plan
Welcoming, accessible to all, central to the community…
of Malvern and the wider world.
A place where all, regardless of background, can learn about our heritage and the relevance of the Christian faith today. Where the Priory and its heritage - the windows, misericords, structure, tiles and other features - tell the story of the Christian faith and its relevance to all.
As well as undertaking major conservation work to protect and enhance the Priory building, the Priory Development Plan aims to make the Priory a focal point for the local community with improved facilities that will enable it to be more widely and comfortably used, both for church services and for other community events.
It is an ongoing project and the work being planned will take several years to come to fruition.
The oldest known carving of a Merman in Worcestershire. Misericord late1300s
Mediaeval tiles