| Musical moments |
| Take our day trip around Worcester and Malvern, tracing the life and times of the composer Elgar |
Edward Elgar is this region’s most famous son. He was born in Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, and spent most of his life in and around the area. There is a marked ‘Elgar Route’ which runs from Malvern to Worcester to
Upton-upon-Severn and back to Malvern, where walkers and music lovers alike can chart his life.
If you stop at every attraction you’ll need at least two days to take in everything. However, there are several points of interest grouped together in and around the towns of Worcester and Malvern.
THE ELGAR GRAVES
The Elgar family graves are at St Wulstans Church, on the A449 Malvern-to-Ledbury road,
in Little Malvern. Park in front
of the church and follow the signs to the grave. Both Edward Elgar and his wife Caroline Alice, who died 14 years before him, are buried together. Their only child is interred nearby.
THE BRITISH CAMP
On leaving St Wulstans, turn left and follow the A449 for about a mile until you come to a large car park at the brow of a hill. Walk up the tarmacked path to The British Camp, an Iron Age hill fort which dates from 200BC. The climb is not that long – it is extremely steep but well worth the effort for the magnificent view over the
countryside. It is thought that Elgar found inspiration here to write his cantata, Caractacus.
HOLY WELL
After leaving The British Camp, return towards Little Malvern, and just after passing the entrance to St Wulstans church take the narrow left fork off the main road, signposted Holy Well. In about a mile you’ll arrive and the well will be on your left.
Water has been drunk from the Holy Well fountain since the 1660s, and since then Malvern has remained a popular spa town for rich convalescents. Famous Victorians to have taken the waters here include Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale.
Sadly, a notice now states that the purity of the water cannot be guaranteed and should therefore be boiled before being drunk.
CRAEG LEA, 86 WELLS RD
From the well, drive back to the main road and turn left towards Great Malvern. The road becomes Wells Rd and you should look
for number 86 on the left-hand side: the Elgars lived here from 1899 to 1904. They named the house ‘Craeg Lea’ – it is an
anagram of C(larice), A(lice) and E(dward) ELGAR.
During that time, Elgar
composed The Dream of Gerontius, Cockaigne, The Apostles, Pomp and Circumstance, The Coronation Ode, and In the South. The house is not open to the public but, depending on the weight of traffic, you can park for a short time to take
photographs from outside.
GREAT MALVERN
Of the four towns which share the name Malvern (Little Malvern, Malvern Wells, West Malvern, and Great Malvern) this is the largest. It is perched on the eastern side of the Malvern Hills and the A449 road runs along its top.
There are several houses around the town able to lay claim to
having a connection with Elgar, and the Winter Gardens Festival Theatre in Grange Rd stages an annual performance of his music during the Malvern Festival (May).
In Alexandra Rd (off Worcester Rd) is ‘Forli’, which was the
family house from 1891 until 1899. Keep your eyes peeled because ‘Forli’ is set back from the road and so can be easily missed: look for a stone gatepost on the
left-hand side, about 200 yards from the start of the road and 20 yards from its junction with Somers Rd. During the time he lived there, Elgar wrote several works,
including the Enigma Variations.
ELGAR'S BIRTHPLACE
Elgar was born on 2 June, 1857, in the village of Lower Broadheath, in Crown East Lane just off the A44 Worcester-to-Leominster road (four miles west of Worcester). The Elgar Centre was built next to the cottage where he lived for the first two years of his life. Next door is The Plough Inn where you can eat snacks and meals.
The Centre houses an extensive collection of Elgar memorabilia including instruments, batons, music scores, concert programmes and letters. There are also displays of his court-dress and the robes he wore when he was made a doctor of music by Cambridge University.
Included in the admission price to The Centre is the ‘Cottage Tour’. Elgars’ home is small but full of personal items which allow a real insight into his life, and his desk is claimed to look exactly as it did before his death in 1934. Everywhere there are portraits
of the composer and other famous people he met during his life.
WORCESTER
The city of Worcester played an important part in Elgar’s life. During his childhood, his father and uncle ran a music shop in the High Street, not far from the Cathedral. Although the shop was demolished, a commemorative plaque is displayed on the wall of the present building.
Nearby is the Guildhall where Elgar received the Freedom of the City, in 1905. The Guildhall is open to the public, free of charge, and serves carvery lunches. The Tourist Information Centre is also housed in the building.
At the end of the High Street, facing the cathedral, is a statue
of Elgar, and in the cathedral’s nave you will see a stained glass window dedicated to him. On the floor below are commemorative plaques to two of Elgar’s
associates – together, the three of them founded The Three Choirs Festival which takes place in August each year.
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Distance 50 miles
Time Nine hours
Start/finish Blackmore Caravan Club Site, Blackmore End,
Hanley Swan. (Note: this is a
members-only caravan site)
Suitable for anyone interested
in English composers and their music.
Tourist Info
Malvern
21 Church Street, Malvern WR14 2AA
Tel 01684 892289
Website Click Here
Worcester
The Guildhall, High Street, Worcester WR1 2EY
Tel 01905 726311
Website Click Here
Refreshments
The Plough Inn Crown East Lane, Lower Broadheath WR2 6RH
Tel 01905 333677
Attractions
The Elgar Birthplace Museum
Crown East lane, Lower Broadheath WR2 6RH
Tel 01905 333224
Email Click here
Website Click Here
Malvern Museum
The Abbey Gateway, Abbey Rd, Malvern WR14 3ES
Tel 01684 567811
Website Click Here
Malvern Splash Leisure Complex
Priory Rd, Malvern WR14 3DS
Tel 01684 893423
Click Here
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