Great Malvern lies on the easterly slope of the famous Malvern Hills,
which run nearly north and south, and form the western barrier of the
Severn Valley. Its site provides a pleasant and far-reaching prospect
of smiling country, dotted here and there with the towers of Worcester,
Gloucester, Tewkesbury and many another town and hamlet. So lofty are
these hills that the views from their summits are hardly to be equalled
elsewhere in England; indeed, it is reckoned that on a fine day one can
look into a dozen counties. The three chief heights have long been known
as Worcester Beacon, Hereford Beacon, and Gloucester Beacon, each named
after the county in which it stands. Peaceful as is this delightful
scene, certain of the memories which it awakens are those of warlike
strife, for one can see from this vantage-point six of the great
battlefields of England--Edgehill, Worcester, Evesham, Tewkesbury,
Shrewsbury, and Mortimer's Cross. Nor are these the only reminders of
warlike deeds, for about the top of two of those great eminences run
encircling lines of strong earthworks, known to have existed since
the time of the early Britons, if, indeed, they do not antedate
them--eloquently silent proof of how long men have realised that this
fair land is worth fighting for. Wonderful and inspiring is the view
that unfolds itself before the eye of the traveller when he has reached
the topmost point of the road and pauses before descending to Great
Malvern. No wonder that William Langland selects this site for the
slumber which yielded him that marvellous dream which he describes in
his "Vision of Piers Plowman" (1362). He says:
"On a May mornege . on Malverne hulles,
I was wery forwandred . and went me to reste
Under a brode banke . bi a bornes side,
And as I lay and lened . and loked in ye wateres
I slombred in a slepyng."
Tradition tells us that he learned the profession of clerk in Great
Malvern Priory, and there composed his splendid poem. His attempt to
correct the abuses of his times accords more readily with the work of
one contemporary, John Wyclif (who about 1380 gave the people the Bible
in English), than it does with the merry "Canterbury Tales," written in
1387 by that Court favourite Chaucer. We have already encountered that
jovial soul during our visit to the early glass of Canterbury. It is
significant that in a work which produced such a marked effect upon its
time as "Piers Plowman," frequent testimony is given to show the esteem
in which stained glass was then held. Whenever church decoration is
mentioned by any of his characters, they almost invariably dwell longer
on this feature than upon any other. The Franciscan monk speaks of his
church: "With gay glitering glas Glowying as the sunne." In similar
fashion the Dominican brother is made to say: "Wyde wyndowes y-wrought,
y-wryten ful thikke, Shynen with shapen sheldes." A severe rap is given
at those who glaze windows in order "Hevene to have," and vain-glorious
souls are urged not "To writen in wyndowes Of youre wel dedes."
But let us, like Langland, arouse ourselves from the reverie
superinduced by this wondrous outlook, and wend our way down the side of
the great hill to the Priory Church. Although its more famous windows
date from a century later than Langland's day, it may well be that his
eye was gladdened by the older glass in the south aisle of the chancel.
It is certainly fine enough to have attracted his notice, and one may
safely assume that he loved glass, else his lines would not so
frequently refer to it. Before observing the Perpendicular glazing in
which this building abounds, let us consider that of the Decorated epoch
in the three embrasures that light the southerly wall of the aisle
chapel south of the choir, and which were there in Langland's time. The
most westerly of these three is filled with heads and _debris_, formerly
in other parts of the church. We shall have a treat in the two windows
adjoining this to the east. Each contains a dozen small scenes from the
Old Testament, the four lancets of each window subdividing these scenes
into three rows of four each. The backgrounds are diapered red or blue,
and a crude border of architecture surrounds each. The drawing is crisp
and the colours are strong and good. Note particularly the red in the
"Naming of the Fowls"; also observe Noah sending forth the dove, while
various sorts of animals crowd about his feet. The rich tones, the
crudeness of the canopy work, and sundry other signs unmistakably mark
this glazing as Decorated. The corresponding chapel on the north side of
the chancel has lost all its ancient glass, except a little in the
tracery lights.
The chief beauty of the interior is the delightful east window, whose
stout central mullion, two-thirds of the way up, divides and inclines
outward to right and left until it touches the frame. A charmingly
soft colour scheme is here used, quite in the best manner of the
Perpendicular epoch. It is difficult to puzzle out the original order of
the figures and canopies, for the window was greatly damaged during the
prevalence of the playful custom, many years ago, of permitting the
village urchins to throw stones at it! Although the design has been
injured, nothing could spoil the colour effect. Viewed from a proper
distance the whole presents an appearance of tender grey, mellowed by
soft blue, with here and there a note of red. The tracery lights escaped
practically unscathed, and each contains a complete figure and canopy.
This great central embrasure is flanked on both the north and the south
by three large clerestory lights, the glazing of the southerly ones
being much less complete than that of their neighbours across the
chancel, where the figure and canopy work is excellent, and the
combination of tints remarkably good. The side columns of the shrines
are broader than is customary, while at the top are an unusual number of
pinnacles, as many as fifteen being noted in one case. These little
spires are shown to advantage against backgrounds of soft blue and pink.
At the top of the north-west window is the martyrdom of St. Woerstan, in
the background of which appear the Malvern Hills. The next most
important glass occupies the large embrasure at the end of the north
transept, which, however, is somewhat reduced from its original
proportions by having the lower panels in some of the side lancets
walled up. The glass here is not so disarranged as in the east window,
and we are able to decipher portraits of Henry VII., his queen, and
members of his family. Something out of the ordinary is the large blue
corona spread over the central part, serving to tie three of the lancets
into one picture. Interesting details occur in the "Adoration of the
Magi" (third from the right in lower row). In the west wall at the
north-west corner of this transept are single figures in canopy, two
rows of three each, one above the other. The great west window is filled
with fragments brought from the nave clerestory, and is mostly figures
and canopies. Taken as a whole, the glass in this church provides a
delightful experience. It is very typical of the lighter tones that came
in with the Perpendicular style, but its greatest service is in teaching
the lesson that, no matter how much a window's design may have suffered,
it will carry its message of beauty, if only the original colour scheme
be sound.
The fine encaustic tiles, not only in the flooring, but also set in the
walls, are of local make. Some date from the fourteenth century, and
others from the fifteenth, at which latter time Great Malvern enjoyed a
wide reputation for their manufacture. Other examples may be seen at
Little Malvern and at Tewkesbury.