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xNewsletter No. 32. July 2010Who are our Friends? Friends promote research, conservation and celebration of the Springs, Spouts, Fountains and Holy Wells of the Malvern Hills and of Great Malvern as a Spa Town. St Ann's Well - in the shadow of the Malvern Hills – snippets of woe By the 1950s St Ann's Well was showing its age. The pump room and the accommodation were dismal and dreary. A renovation scheme was prepared, despite dissension among some of the Malvern Hills Conservators (MHC) Board members. When the work was put out to tender it was over a year before any builders showed an interest and their tenders were hugely over budget. After much discussion of alternative plans the Board voted that the well should be preserved but housed in 'more modest and attractive surroundings' and the remainder of the buildings demolished. The townsfolk protested; MHC changed its mind and agreed that £3000 be spent on renovation and preservation. Eventually the tenants were told to leave by the end of September 1964 for two reasons: firstly because the rent was in arrears, and secondly because MHC wanted to renovate the building. The new tenants were expected to keep the café open during normal business hours all year round, and could keep any profit they made. Prospective tenants came to look - and went away. It was not until August 1965 that the first tenants arrived. In the first 10 months, after working 7 days a week, they had only made £91 profit. They left after a year. A married couple became the new prospective tenants. They were offered 6 months rent free, then 2 years at £150 p.a. They were expected to do all the interior repairs, do the book-keeping, and collect the provisions. They didn't come. Five boys aged 12-14 broke in and set the renovated building on fire. It was costly to repair. By the end of April 1967, six months after the first tenants left, new ones arrived - the 'H's'. They stayed for several years. St Ann's Well is surrounded by trees and hills and shade; it is ideal for sitting out of the sun. However, sunlight is essential; it triggers the brain to produce serotonin, a hormone that combats depression. Today it is well known that lack of exposure to sunlight in the winter can cause SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder. The symptoms include irritability, and aggressive or impulsive behaviour. It takes a resilient person to be a tenant at St Ann's Well for any length of time. 1904 picture caption: “Do you remember the little fat blind man? He still plays the Harmonium here”. Did Blind George Pullen suffer from SAD? He sat here, day after day, in the shade during the 'season', and presumably stayed at home when the sun didn't shine. See further comment page 3. 
Mulberry Trees go forth and multiply
There is a lot going on in the background while we wait for the Mulberry Tree saplings to grow large enough for one to be planted beside the spring in Priory Park. We recently had a visit from Local History Officer Di Foster whose office overlooks the Mulberry Tree in Malvern Australia. Meeting in Ledbury we heard all her latest news and most importantly she had an opportunity to inspect Hope, one of the six saplings being reared in secret locations throughout England. As can be seen the sapling is rapidly becoming a tree and no doubt by the time you read this Di will have reported back to her friends and colleagues in Malvern Australia that all is well. In the picture Di and Bruce admire Hope. The story does not end there. In Newsletter 31 we reported on the new 25c coins in the USA commemorating their national parks. The first to be released was Hot Springs Arkansas in April this year. Like the Malvern Hills this is the nation's oldest 'national park/protected landscape'. Malvern is the gateway town to the Hot Springs National Park. In Newsletter 14 of July 2006, we reported on the amazing vintage spa resort and thermal waters of Hot Springs and we have since been in touch with our contacts there. As a result they are now keen to have their own George Bernard Shaw Mulberry Tree planted in a key location in the town of Malvern. Discussions are continuing as to how we might get a sapling to them and we will keep you updated on progress with this exciting new aspect of the Mulberry Tree project. 
In the picture – Malvern Arkansas 100 years ago. You can now access all past newsletter from our main web site www.malvernspa.com. For details of the Mulberry Tree project go to www.malvernspringsandwells.com 
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - more.
In the last Newsletter we did an editorial on various 19th century Malvern doctors and we invited Friends to suggest further names where the above headings might apply. Several suggestions (a couple unprintable) resulted, including one of a doctor (D.Phil) who was recently spotted cavorting naked in an open air hot spring in the United States. Our under cover reporter fortuitously secured a photograph which we reproduce here. Only the cavorter's name goes unpublished. The location of this indulgence was the Gila Hot Springs that are located near Silver City in New Mexico. Here there are several pools which vary in temperature slightly but all within the 110 – 105 degree F range. The site is organised to facilitate bathing and nearby camping but to the casual observer would appear to be natural. A low level of supervision also applies but visitors are left largely to their own devices. Such sites are particularly popular in the US and rather like Malvern Springs and Wells, guide books exist to the many natural hot spring sources that can be visited. Perhaps we should initiate something along these lines for the Malvern Hills? There are two problems - firstly no hot source water - and secondly the sight of Dr B cavorting may elicit a response that is less than favourable! 
Mystery Fountain Picture baffles us.
We have been continually acquiring new material for the forthcoming book 'Celebrated Springs of the Malvern Hills'. Our efforts are not without complications however. These range from Cora's computer conking out to material arriving that we are not sure about. For example this picture was recently discovered by a Friend and we have no idea where it is. The caption is 'The Lily Pond in Malvern Gardens'. It's a very attractive fountain - but where? If you can help please let us know as we would love to use it in the book if appropriate. First person to come up with the answer gets a free copy of Aquae Malvernensis. Comment on St Ann's Well article on the front page. There is a lot of discussion going on at present regarding the future use and tenancy of St Ann’s Well. Whether you agree with the Malvern Hills Conservators who want to terminate John Redman's long running tenancy and convert the building into a visitor centre or believe that John has provided a valuable refreshment service and custodianship of the property for many years, is a matter of personal choice. However there is much public debate and even a Facebook site Save St Ann's Well. What is apparent is that the machinations of the Conservators on this issue have been a public relations disaster. Perhaps it is time to seriously consider the Malvern Hills becoming part of a new national park including the Teme Valley and Abberley Hills? Let us have your views. Civic Society Trip to Marienbad. In the last newsletter we mentioned a possible trip to Marienbad. The Civic Society have now forwarded details as follows. If you would like to consider joining the trip please contact Roger Sutton, chairman of Malvern Civic Society. Email roger.sutton1@btinternet.com Telephone 01684 565273 
CZECH SPA TOWNS VISIT – 21 to 29April 2011 It is planned to arrange a visit to the three Czech Spa Towns in April next year. · Direct flights to Prague - BA from Heathrow · Coach transfer from Prague Airport · Staying in Marienske Lazne · Eight nights in a four star hotel · Half board including drinks and afternoon tea · Six spa treatments per person · Visits and guided tours of the three spa towns · Visit to the Plzen Brewery · Visit to the Tepla Monastery The cost will be about 850 UK pounds per head with a single supplement [£10 per night] It is expected that about 40 persons will be on the trip. Places are subject to availability. A deposit of 60 UK pounds per person will be requested on application. Picture – the Carolinen Spring, Marienbad. Springs elsewhere - Castalian Spring – an exploration into Ancient Greece 
Delphi to the Greeks was considered the centre of the world. At its heart was the Temple of Apollo located high on a mountain side amidst the trappings of an important religious and administrative city. The Oracle of Gaia delivered prophesies from the rock of Sibyl, which can still be seen at Delphi. Sibyl, later Pythia, was the priestess who voiced prophesies.
After 700 BC the worship of Apollo replaced the earlier beliefs and the Oracle of Delphi gained considerable reputation in prophesies that were to influence the national development. Emperors and statesmen visited the Oracle. A new, albeit replacement temple to Apollo was constructed in 330 BC. In the depths of this temple was an underground chamber where the Pythia recanted prophesises from Apollo. Vapours emerged from a fissure in the rock and the incoherent mutterings of the Pythia needed priests to interpret and clarify. Such incantations were enhanced by both the mind altering effects of the vapours and the chewing of laurel leaves. Each day the priests, visitors and the Pythia would wash in the Castalian spring nearby which was reputed to confer oracular properties. (I think we must have a similar spring in Malvern judging from some of the ramblings that we hear from time to time!) Although political influence fluctuated it was not until about 400 AD that the Oracle finally ceased to operate, at the end of a period of 1200 years. The Spring survives and a trip to Delphi enabled us to appreciate the significance of this ancient site. For further information we have
a paper that tracks the origins of the Delphi belief system to ancient Britain. Let us know if
you would like a free copy or click on the hyper linked text underlined. Florence Nightingale Stuff (see Newsletter 31) Malvern Museum is hosting Florence Nightingale, the Respectable Rebel, on Friday 13th August at 7.30 in Malvern Priory Church. The talk is by Lucy Adlington of History Wardrobe, who will be dressed in period costume, to commemorate the centenary of the death of Florence Nightingale on 13th August 1910. Tickets are £5 and available from Malvern Museum (open daily except Wednesdays, 10.30-5pm) or the Tourist Information Centre in Church Street (open daily 10-5pm). E-Mail - Most Friends now receive their newsletter by email. Would you prefer to receive the Friends Newsletter by email? If so it is FREE. If yes, let us know by contacting bruce@thespas.co.uk We can also send out an email notification of the posting of a new Newsletter on our web site. Let us know if you would prefer this because it avoids large attachment downloads on your personal computer.  Newsletter Archive - Those of you who have had a browse through our Newsletter Archives recently will have seen that we now have all past Newsletters accessible from the web site. In addition we have listed the contents on the INDEX PAGE. This is part of a plan to simplify our distribution of Newsletters by post and email. Click the icon left to search the archive.
Renewal of Friendship - Due to the ever increasing numbers of Friends (now in their hundreds), we have to make a small charge for mailing occasional Newsletters of 6.00 pounds for 4. If you receive a renewal notice with this newsletter please send it back completed, if you want to continue receiving newsletters. Friends web site: www.malvernspa.com This site gives you a link to the Newsletter on-line archive. Or the Mulberry Tree web site: www.malvernspringsandwells.com Best wishes, Cora & Bruce Bruce Osborne, Tower House, Tadworth, Surrey. KT20 5QY Tel. 01737 213169 email bruce@thespas.co.uk Cora Weaver, 4 Hall Green, Malvern, Worcs. WR14 3QX Tel. 01684 561215 email cora@malvernspa.com ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CLICK TO GO TO THE NEWSLETTER INDEX  |
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