Malvern Museum

The Malvern Museum in Great Malvern, the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire, England, is located in the Priory Gatehouse, the former gateway to the Great Malvern Priory. The museum was established in 1979 and is owned and managed by the Malvern Museum Society Ltd, a registered charity.[1] The Priory Gatehouse was a gift to the museum in 1980 from the de Vere Group, the owners of the neighbouring Abbey Hotel, and is staffed by volunteers.[2] As such, the building itself is the museum's major exhibit.[3]

Florence Nightingale exhibit at Malvern Museum 2010

Malvern Museum
Photograph
Abbey Gateway, Malvern town centre
Malvern Museum is located in Worcestershire
Malvern Museum
The location of Malvern Museum within Worcestershire
Established1979 (1979)
LocationMalvern, Worcestershire, England
Coordinates52.11049°N 2.32952°W / 52.11049; -2.32952
TypeLocal
Public transit accessGreat Malvern railway station
Websitewww.malvernmuseum.co.uk

Among the museum's exhibits are many local artefacts and archaeological findings dating from the Iron Age hill fort at the British Camp, to recent history. A series of rooms depicts different periods of history and include lifelike displays and information boards. Themes covered include natural history, Malvern Priory, Malvern Forest and Chase, life in Victorian Malvern, Edward Elgar, the Malvern Festival, the history of the local economy including the 19th century hydrotherapy using Malvern water (instrumental in the settlement's rapid growth from a village to a large town), the development of radar by TRE, and Morgan Motor Company cars.[4]

The museum is open daily, 10.30 to 17.00, from 25 March to 31 October.

Priory Gatehouse

Erroneously referred to as the Abbey Gateway, the Priory Gatehouse was built in the late 15th century, and is the second oldest building in Great Malvern after the Norman Priory Church.[5] The Gatehouse was the main entrance into the Priory, and is one of the few monastic buildings to survive the Dissolution of Great Malvern Priory in 1539.[6][7] In 1544 the Gatehouse was sold to William Pynnocke, who sold it a year later to John Knotsford. During the Elizabethan period it passed by marriage to the Savage family, who held it until 1774.[2] In the 19th century the Gatehouse was used as offices for solicitors, architects, and estate agents, and its upper floor served as a venue for the Malvern Police Court.[2]

References
  1. "Malvern Museum of Local History". The Malvern Museum Society. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  2. Hurle, Pamela (2003). Malvern Museum at the Abbey Gateway (Malvern Priory Gatehouse) (2nd ed.). Malvern: Malvern Museum. ISBN 0954152034.
  3. "Malvern Museum - An unexpected Jewel in Malvern's crown". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  4. "Malvern Museum of Local history: Explore the Museum". The Malvern Museum Society. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  5. Brooks, Alan; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). The Buildings of England: Worcestershire. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 455. ISBN 9780300112986.
  6. Remfrey, Paul (1998). The Herefordshire Beacon of King Harold II and the Earls of Hereford and Worcester. ukprint.com. ISBN 9781899376735.
  7. Weaver, Cora (1993). The Priory Gatehouse of Great Malvern. Aldine Press. ISBN 1-873809-06-9.
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