Printed in 1731 by S&N Buck, an etching of the "North View of Great Malvern Abby, in the County of Worcester". From the Topographical Collection of George III at the British Library, digitised and uploaded to Flikr.
In 1731, an etching showed the Abbey Gate, then called the North View of Great Malvern Abby, surrounded by hills, muddy tracks and tumble down walls.
The swirly description underneath states:
"MALVERN-MAGNA, ABBY, was in the Saxons times an Hermitage of Urso d'Abitot. In the 18th K. Will.m 1st it was made a Priory of Benedictines by the Hermit Aldwin who gave it large Endowments: to which K. Hen. 1st added. Richard L.d Clifford was a great Benefactor to it as were also K. Hen. III.d K. Edw. 1.st Gilbert Earl of Glocester, Ofborn & Richard de Pontibus, and in procefs of time from a Cell to ye Abby of Westminster, it became a free Abby. Tho.s Savage Esq. is ye present Proprietor. It was valued at ye Difsolution £308. 1s. 5d. Speed. S. & N. Buck delin et sculp.t 1731.
The year 1731 finds the Abbey Gate—and the village of Great Malvern surrounding it—at a quiet, post-medieval standstill. This was an era decades before the Napoleonic Wars and a century before the Victorian "Water Cure" would turn the district into a bustling international resort. In 1731, Great Malvern was a modest settlement of perhaps sixty houses, characterized by a rugged, agricultural lifestyle. The Abbey Gate, or Priory Gateway, served as the most prominent secular reminder of the Benedictine monastery that had been dissolved nearly 200 years prior, in 1539. To understand the gatehouse in 1731 is to see a building transitioning from a monastic relic into a functional part of an early Georgian rural economy.
The Physical Structure in the Early Georgian Era
By 1731, the Abbey Gate was roughly 250 years old. Architecturally, it was a hybrid of late medieval craftsmanship and practical Georgian maintenance. The lower story, constructed from the local Malvern Rag stone, remained the structural anchor. This stone, a hard Precambrian rock quarried from the hills just above the village, was weathered but remarkably durable. The great vaulted archway, which had once been the threshold to a sacred enclosure, was now a public portal for carts, livestock, and pedestrians.
The upper story featured the classic "black and white" timber framing of the West Midlands. In 1731, the oak timbers would have been dark with age and hardened into a consistency like iron. The "wattle and daub" infill—a mixture of mud, straw, and dung—would have been whitewashed with lime to protect it from the damp Malvern air. The windows were small, fitted with leaded lights and hand-blown glass that often appeared green or yellow. The building had a "jettied" appearance, where the upper floors overhung the lower stone arch, a common feature of 15th-century construction that remained prominent in the 18th-century landscape.
The Gateway as a Residential Space
Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, the Abbey Gate had passed into secular hands. In 1731, it was not a museum but a lived-in property. The rooms above the archway, which may have once housed the monastic porter or served as administrative offices for the Prior, were utilized as domestic quarters. It was common in this period for such structures to be subdivided; a local family or a parish official might have resided there, their daily lives governed by the steepness of the surrounding tracks and the seasonal cycles of the Malvern Chase.
The interior would have been spartan by modern standards. Open hearths provided heat, and the smell of woodsmoke would have been permanent. The rooms were characterized by low ceilings and massive exposed oak beams. Because the building sat at the entrance to the churchyard of the Priory (which had become the parish church), the inhabitants of the gatehouse in 1731 were at the center of the village’s social and religious life, witnessing every wedding, funeral, and Sunday service that passed through the stone arch.
The Surrounding Village and The Priory
In 1731, the area around the Abbey Gate was largely agricultural. The sprawling monastic buildings—the cloisters, the infirmary, and the dormitories—were almost entirely gone, their stones long since "robbed" by local builders to construct barns and cottages. The Priory Church stood somewhat isolated, a massive stone structure that was frequently in need of repair. The grounds were not the manicured gardens of today; they were a mix of a working churchyard, small orchards, and vegetable plots.
The roads leading to the gatehouse were rutted dirt tracks. In 1731, the main road from Worcester ended in the village, and travel further into the hills or toward Herefordshire was a difficult task for horses and wagons. The village "green" or open space near the gatehouse was the site of local markets and seasonal fairs. The economy was primarily based on the production of wool, cider, and corn. Malvern stone was quarried on a small scale for local use, but the heavy industry of the 19th-century quarries had not yet begun to scar the hills.
The Early Reputation of Malvern Water
Although the 1731 visitor would not find "Hydros" or sophisticated bottling plants, the reputation of Malvern’s spring water was beginning to spread beyond the local area. By this time, the "Holy Well" and "St Ann's Well" were known landmarks. People believed the water could cure skin diseases and eye complaints. However, in 1731, "taking the water" was a rustic experience.
Visitors would arrive on horseback or in sturdy carriages to drink from the spouts. There were no formal promenade gardens or engineered paths; the "water cure" patients of 1731 had to scramble up steep sheep tracks to reach the springs. The Abbey Gate served as a landmark for these early health seekers. After their climb, they might return to the village to stay at one of the two or three local inns, such as the Crown, which provided basic accommodation for the "gentry" who were beginning to favor Malvern for its perceived purity and quietude.
Local Governance and the Foley Estate
In 1731, the village was under the significant influence of the Foley family, who held the Lordship of the Manor. The Foleys, who had made their fortune in the iron industry of the Stour Valley, were the primary landowners and patrons. Their influence dictated the maintenance of the Abbey Gate and the surrounding common land of the Malvern Chase.
This was a period of traditional social hierarchy. The "Vestry"—a group of local parishioners—met to manage the affairs of the poor, the maintenance of the roads, and the upkeep of the church. The Abbey Gate was a physical manifestation of this local authority. Decisions regarding the village were often made in the shadow of its archway, and it served as a collection point for tithes and local taxes. The gatehouse was the "official" face of the village, marking the boundary between the secular world and the ecclesiastical ground of the Priory.
The Malvern Chase and Common Rights
The landscape visible from the Abbey Gate in 1731 was dominated by the Malvern Chase. Although the Chase had been legally disafforested (losing its status as a royal hunting forest) in the 1630s, it remained a vast, wild area of common land. In 1731, the "commoners" of Malvern exercised their rights to graze sheep, cattle, and pigs on the slopes of the hills.
The sight of animals being driven through the Abbey Gate was a daily occurrence. The wool trade remained vital, and the "Malvern sheep" were a common sight on the ridge above the gatehouse. This agricultural activity kept the hills more open than they are today; constant grazing prevented the growth of the dense scrub and woodland that now characterizes much of the lower slopes. The hills were a productive asset, essential for the survival of the village families who lived in the shadow of the gatehouse.
Historical Significance and Preservation
The Abbey Gate was preserved in 1731 not because it was an "antique," but because it was useful. In an era before standardized building materials, a structure made of solid oak and Malvern stone was a valuable resource. The fact that it served as a gateway to the parish church meant it was maintained by the churchwardens and the manor.
Architecturally, the gatehouse in 1731 was a rare survivor of a lost world. Most monastic gatehouses had been destroyed during the Reformation, but Malvern's was spared. Its survival ensured that the medieval craftsmanship of the 15th century remained visible to the early Georgian residents. It provided a sense of continuity in a village that had seen its great monastery disappear but its religious and social heart remain. For the resident of 1731, the Abbey Gate was simply a permanent part of the landscape, as reliable and unchanging as the hills themselves.
Helpful Links
Malvern Museum of Local History Great Malvern Priory - Official History Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service
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