Little Malvern, Malvern

Irresistibly picturesque with its splendid profile of mellowed timber gables, chimney stacks, turret and tower, little Malvern Court sits perched on a dramatic hillside surrounded by flowing formal gardens and breath-taking panoramic views of the Severn Valley.

Why We Love Little Malvern Court - Irresistibly picturesque with its splendid profile of mellowed timber gables, chimney stacks, turret and tower, Little Malvern Court sits perched on a dramatic hillside surrounded by flowing formal gardens and breath-taking panoramic views of the Severn Valley.

A family home for almost five centuries this remarkable medieval house cannot fail to capture the imagination.
Originally part of a medieval priory, Little Malvern Court was adapted into a house following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The house is Grade II* boasting an evolution of outstanding architectural features and a series of elegant entertaining rooms including the magnificent 15th century great hall, known as the Prior’s Hall. Whilst undoubtedly grand in scale, the house is very comfortable and effortless to live in with an intimately pleasant feel throughout, enhanced by its high airy ceilings and charming characterful architecture including spiral staircases, great mullion windows, and arched doorways.

The setting is also remarkable providing an unspoilt rural backdrop to the court and its gardens, with views of the Severn Valley and Malvern Hills, long celebrated for their beauty. This spot offers a fantastic vantage point from which to watch the light play across the distance, with the hills’ changing colours stretching for miles and providing a constant source of pleasure.

"The Malvern Hills be green some days
And some days purple-blue,
There never was the like of them
The whole of England through."
"...Against the evening light they stand,
So proud, and dark, and old,
The Raggedstone and Hollybush,
And Worcester Beacon bold.”
Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943) — "The Malvern Hills"

Accommodation

The layout of the house is centred around a small central courtyard, gently enhancing the light and airy feel of the interiors. Undoubtedly the centrepiece of Little Malvern Court is the Great Hall which is 45 ft in length with a huge stone fireplace and soaring ceiling of ancient oak featuring cusped wind braces and ornate double purlins. This room makes a truly magnificent space for entertaining. It also features an intriguing hidden side room which was used as a secret chapel following the Reformation.

The generously proportioned drawing room and dining room flow beautifully on from the front hall. Both rooms feature handsome stone and marble chimney pieces and expansive mullion windows with uninterrupted green views, the dining room with views over the hill and formal gardens and the drawing room with views down over the lakes and water garden. There is also a family sitting room, a study, and a playroom which all provide separate quiet space. The expansive kitchen is conveniently situated next to the service courtyard at the side of the house with a seating area at one end. A series of three great timber open archways link the kitchen with the adjoining breakfast room creating a lovely sociable open feel.

Doors from the drawing room family, breakfast room and family sitting room lead out to a stone flagged garden terrace, perfect for long lunches outdoors and enjoying the views in warmer months.

The first floor is approached by a discreet lift or via one of the three fabulous separate period staircases (including a stone and timber spiral staircase). This floor enjoys remarkably high ceilings and characterful exposed timbers with a cosy upstairs sitting room off the principal landing. The spoiling principal bedroom suite is located above the drawing room with the same stunning dual aspect views and its own adjoining bathroom and dressing room.
There are five further well-proportioned bedrooms across the first and second floors. Three of these bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms (two of the ensuites are romantically located in an original tower turret) and there is also a separate family bathroom. The second floor contains several further rooms which are currently used as storage.

Stable Cottage and Coach House Cottage

There are two semi-detached timber-framed cottages, Stable Cottage and Coach House Cottage. Both are well suited to provide additional accommodation for guests, ancillary or as rental income. Three-bedroom Stable Cottage extends to about 1,157 sq ft Coach House Cottage extends to about 1,014 sq ft with two bedrooms on the first floor and a single bedroom/study on the first floor. The cottages are separate from the house and share a driveway and courtyard parking area separate to that of the main house.

Outbuildings

To the side of the house sits a most attractive stone flagged service courtyard with a range of stone-built outbuildings including a carport with log store and plant room and a triple garage. The garage is fitted with kitchenette and accommodation above comprising sitting room and bathroom, giving potential to create guest or ancillary accommodation subject to planning permission. There is also a substantial separate workshop/garden store adjoining Coach House Cottage.

Glorious Gardens and Grounds

37 acres of exquisite landscaped gardens flow out from the house and have been beautifully tended and added to through generations of the Berington family.

The gardens predate the house and were originally the site of fishponds established by monks prior to the Reformation. Following a plan dated 1720, these pools, like much of the garden, were restored in the 1980s and planted with water lilies, forming a stunning centrepiece to the gardens. While the fundamental layout of the garden has remained, there have been many additions over the last decade, including the re-discovery of the stream garden and the replacement of the cascades between the 2nd and 3rd ponds.

Closer to the house are a series of traditional formal gardens designed as a sequence of rooms, planted with special attention to seasonal colour patterns. These include a rose garden with some lovely old roses and magnificent yew topiary (including an impressive topiary hedge), marching through the garden like a series of giant abstract chess pieces and complementing the romantic atmosphere of the house.

Throughout the garden, views are framed by a wonderful assortment of mature trees, including a selection of Magnolia with a blanket of spring bulbs beneath, limes, and impressive cedar planted from seeds brought back from the Holy Land in the 1860s by Charles Berington.

There is also a substantial Victorian walled kitchen garden established in the 19th century, incorporating a tennis court, orchard, potting house, glasshouse and garden store, with plenty of space for further planting. This area can be accessed on foot through the gardens or via the separate access lane. To the north of the walled garden lies an area of pasture and pockets of deciduous woodland.

Living In The Malvern Hills - Set against the dramatic sweep of the Malvern Hills, Little Malvern Court enjoys an exceptional position in one of England’s most cherished designated national landscapes.
The historic spa town of Great Malvern lies just minutes away and is widely admired for its cultured atmosphere and handsome architecture. Long associated with wellbeing and the natural springs that rise throughout the hills, Malvern has for generations attracted visitors drawn by its scenery, fresh air and restorative qualities.

Malvern is also a lively cultural hub, renowned for its festivals, theatre and year-round programme of events. The town hosts regular arts, crafts and food markets, while the popular Malvern Farmers’ Market, held on the third Saturday of each month. Food lovers are further drawn to the Great Malvern Food Festival, which celebrates the area’s thriving culinary scene.

For those who enjoy the outdoors, the setting is outstanding. Footpaths lead directly onto the Malvern Hills, with superb walking routes along the Malvern Ridge, including the celebrated trail from British Camp. From the ridge, far-reaching views extend west across the Herefordshire Hills and the rugged Black Mountains, offering some of the finest walking in the region. The surrounding countryside provides endless opportunities for exploration, while the town itself offers an appealing selection of independent cafés, restaurants and shops.

The charming market town of Ledbury, with its distinctive black-and-white timbered buildings and excellent range of independent shops, cafés and butchers, lies around 20 minutes away by car. Cheltenham, easily accessed via the M5, is renowned for its elegant shopping, dining and cultural life, as well as its prestigious schools. A particular highlight of the year is the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which draws racing enthusiasts from across the country and adds to the area’s rich sporting calendar.
Fantastic Schools

The area has some fantastic schools, with an excellent choice of both state and independent schools. These include The Wyche and Wells Primary School, The Chase Secondary School, Malvern College and Malvern St James, with further highly regarded options available in Worcester and Cheltenham, including Cheltenham College, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Dean Close and Pate’s Grammar School.

Transport

There are excellent links to the M5, and M50. Worcester Parkway, a recently developed train station outside Worcester has extensive parking, as does Malvern Link.
Fast train services go direct to London and Birmingham from both stations. Birmingham Airport is about an hours drive away.

Great Malvern 4 miles, Ledbury 5 miles, M50 Motorway 7 miles, M5 Motorway 12 miles, Worcester 12 miles, Cheltenham 21 miles, Birmingham International Airport 50 miles, London 130 miles

Chapters Past - Rich in Romance Little Malvern’s roots stretch back to the Middle Ages with fascinating links to one of the most important foundational works of literature in the English Language.

Little Malvern Court’s remarkable history started around 1125–1127 when a small community of Benedictine monks settled here and established a priory dedicated to St Giles. For centuries the community lived by the Rule of St Benedict, tending the land and worshipping within buildings clustered around the priory church.

One of the most intriguing early cultural threads tied to this site is its association with the 14th century poet William Langland who is widely credited as the author of The Vision of Piers Plowman. Written in Middle English in the last decades of the 1300s, The Vision of Piers Plowman is considered one of the earliest canonical works of English literature, predating Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Its rich allegory and alliterative verse are thought to have influenced Chaucer and helped shape the course of English literary tradition. Langland was likely educated at Little Malvern Priory, and the poem opens with the narrator falling asleep on the slopes of the Malvern Hills.

In the late Middle Ages, the priory was rebuilt and restored under Bishop Alcock, the Bishop of Worcester and founder of Jesus College Cambridge, who oversaw extensive works around 1480–1482. Alcock’s works included the construction of the earliest surviving room in the house know as Prior’s Hall. This spectacular medieval hall originally functioned as a dining hall which served as the communal heart of the medieval monastery. It’s soaring oak roof exhibits some particularly fine early architectural features including cusped wind-braces, double purlins and finely moulded timbers.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s brought an abrupt end to monastic life at Little Malvern. Yet unlike many religious houses, the site passed swiftly into sympathetic hands. Under Mary I, the estate was granted to the staunchly Catholic Russell family. The Russells’ steadfast loyalty to the old faith endured through the turbulent years that followed and continued down the generations. Within the house, discreet architectural features, including a concealed chapel tucked away behind the Prior’s Hall, speak quietly of recusant practice. The estate passed by marriage to the Berington family in the 18th century and by direct descent through that family to the current owners. Over the centuries, the former priory buildings were gradually adapted with notable additions in the Georgian and Victorian eras including work by the prominent architect Joseph Hansom (inventor of the Hansom Cab) and evolved into the present comfortable family home.