St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church

St Wulstan's, Little Malvern
Church of St Wulstan
St Wulstan's, Little Malvern Location in Worcestershire
52.0666°N 2.3356°W / 52.0666; -2.3356
Location	Little Malvern, Worcestershire
Country	England
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Religious order	Benedictine Order
Website	www.saint-wulstans.org.uk
History
Dedication	St Wulstan
Dedicated	1861-1862
Associated people	Edward Elgar
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II-listed
Designated	23 February 1987
Architect(s)	Benjamin Bucknall
Architectural type	Gothic Revival
Years built	1862
Administration
Archdiocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham
Clergy
Archbishop	Bernard Longley
Priest(s)	Rev. Father Thomas Regan OSB

St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church, Little Malvern, Worcestershire, England is a Benedictine parish church administered by the monks of Downside Abbey. The attached churchyard contains the grave of the composer Edward Elgar and of his wife, Alice. The church was designed in 1862 in a Gothic Revival style by Benjamin Bucknall. It is a Grade II listed building. The Elgars' grave has a separate Grade II listing.

History

The Benedictines established a monastery at what is now Little Malvern Priory in around 1171.^[1] After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory was reduced to the chancel and tower, and other elements were converted and reused in the construction of Little Malvern Court.^[2] The court came into the possession of the Berington family in the 18th century, who remain its owners.^[3] Staunchly recusant, the Beringtons supported a Catholic congregation at Little Malvern and in 1860 engaged the architect Benjamin Bucknall to construct a new church.^[4] The church, completed in 1862, was dedicated to St Wulstan.^[5]

In 1920 Alice Elgar, wife of the composer Edward Elgar, was buried in the churchyard at St Wulstan's. The church had been the Elgars' regular place of worship during their time at Craeg Lea, their home at Malvern Wells.^[a][8] Following his own death in 1932, Elgar himself was interred in the same grave.^[b][4] Their memorial was designed by Arthur Troyte Griffith, a Malvern-based architect and close friend of Elgar, whom Elgar celebrated in Variation VII, “Troyte”, of his Enigma Variations.^[10] The composer Dorothy Howell, who for many years tended the Elgar grave on behalf of the Elgar Society, is buried nearby.^[11]

The church is now owned and administered by the Benedictine community at Downside Abbey.^[12]

Architecture and description

The church is constructed of local Malvern rubble with ashlar stone dressings. It comprises a nave and a chancel. An undercroft designed by Bucknall was never built. The church contains stained glass by Hardman & Co., which, as at 2022, is undergoing a major restoration.^[13][4] St Wulstan's is a Grade II listed building.^[14] The Elgars' grave has a separate Grade II listing.^[15]

Gallery

• 
  Grave of Edward Elgar and his wife Alice
• 
  Stained glass window
• 
  Stained glass window
• 
  Baptistry

Notes

1. The Elgars were extremely peripatetic, buying and selling around a dozen houses in the Malvern area during their 30-year marriage.^[6][7]
2. Sir Edward Elgar was born in Worcestershire, at Lower Broadheath, where his first home, The Firs, is now the Elgar Birthplace Museum. Elgar spent much of his life in the county and wrote many of his works there.^[9]

References

1. "History of St Wulstan's Church in Little Malvern". St Wulstan's Church. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
2. Brooks & Pevsner 2007, pp. 431–434.
3. Brooks & Pevsner 2007, p. 433.
4. Brooks & Pevsner 2007, p. 435.
5. "Opening of the Roman Catholic Church at Malvern Wells" (PDF). Malvern Advertiser. 1862.
6. "The houses of Edward Elgar". National Trust. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
7. "The Elgar Trail". All About Elgar. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
8. "The Elgar Graves". St Wulstan’s Church. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
9. "The Houses of Edward Elgar". National Trust. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
10. "Little Malvern Conservation Area" (PDF). Malvern Hills District Council. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
11. "Dorothy Howell - A lady of great charm". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
12. "St Wulstan, Little Malvern". Catholic Historic Churches. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
13. Banner, Tom (19 November 2021). "Church where Edward Elgar is buried to restore windows". Malvern Gazette. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
14. Historic England. "Church of St Wulstan (Grade II) (1098787)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
15. Historic England. "Elgar's Grave, 20M S of the Church of St Wulstan (Grade II) (1178469)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 July 2022.

Sources

• Brooks, Alan; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). Worcestershire. The Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11298-6. OCLC 237891290.

External links

• St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church website