Looking down on Great Malvern

My wife's position on an outcrop of rock above the Worcestershire town of Great Malvern looks precarious. In fact, it is less hazardous than it might seem. Moreover, it gives a peregrine falcon's eye view of that part of the town around the medieval priory church. The photograph was taken on an unseasonally cold late April day when even the sun didn't feel spring-like - hence the warm jacket and trousers, hat and gloves.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Clappers of the old ring

Many English churches feature inscribed bells that date from the medieval period and later. The bells and the structure in which they hang often requires repair and restoration. This must have happened at Great Malvern Priory in 1887 because in that year Edward Archer preserved the old "clappers" (the pieces of metal that strike each bell) of the ring i.e. the collection of bells, and mounted them on a display board with accompanying text, verse and decoration, all made from dome-head nails. If you look carefully you can see the date of each clapper - two are dated 1611, three are dated 1707 and one has the words "Virgin Mary about 1380". The display can be seen in the Priory porch.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Polychrome stonework, Great Malvern Priory

Down the ages the builders of stone churches and houses have used different coloured stone in decorative ways. Banding and chequering is common in Britain as is the marking out of entrances and windows. In the Victorian period architects extended this practice to brickwork, particularly during the period when Venetian Gothic was fashionable. Coloured stonework is a feature of the exterior of Great Malvern Priory in Worcestershire. However, here it results from the great variety of types and colours of local stone, aided by the way the stone changes colour over the years. Many architects and restorers look to match and blend new stonework with the old. At Malvern this isn't the case and the effect is very attractive.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Little Malvern Priory

This view of Little Malvern Priory is one that I've seen several times as I've driven along the road from Welland. The tall tower and the short nave (formerly the choir), are a somewhat ungainly pairing. They are a consequence of a large part of the original Benedictine Monastery having been pulled down during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century. The building now serves as a parish church and graces this position where the steep, wild slopes of the Malvern Hills become gentler, agricultural land.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100