Friends of Malvern Springs and Wells
OCTOBER 2013
Springs and Wells Newsletter No. 54
Friends are the guardians of Malvern’s water heritage (Malvern Gazette 1 March 2013 p.14). We
are an independent voluntary group who relentlessly 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.
Springs Spouts and Fountains
elsewhere – Fountain of Gold
Bendigo
This water feature we have nicknamed
the Fountain of Gold. The picture was
taken during a field trip earlier in 2013
to the town of Bendigo in Victoria,
Australia. But it’s not just the flower
bed that led to us renaming it. This
once wild town grew up as a result of
two local women finding gold in
Bendigo Creek in 1851. Approximately
nine billion dollars worth of gold was
found, making it one of the richest
goldfields in history.
The Alexandra Fountain was a
manifestation of the riches that
abounded. The fountain was officially
unveiled by His Royal Highness Prince
Albert Edward Victor of Wales on 5th
July 1881. It is constructed from 20
tonnes of granite and includes
dolphins, unicorns, nymphs and
allegorical figures. Standing a daunting
28ft high above the level of the
roadway, it is situated in the middle of
the major road intersection in the town
and is in good working order. Other
things to do there include seeking out the giant bats that lurk in the nearby park and riding the trams to
the tramway shed where they still conserve and operate the towns historic tram system.
Picture - Bruce sitting under this amazing fountain wearing his Australian Bush Hat.
Gullet Quarry – named after the part of the body most affected when tombstoning?
In the last Newsletter we reported on the tragic death of Russell O’Neil at the Gullett Quarry this
summer. Now there is another death to report. Twenty two year old Justas Juzenas lost his life on the
same spot six days later. In spite of this there is a steady stream of people wishing to swim in the
quarry lake and there is much public debate on the solution to this problem. Fill the quarry or fence it
like a prison?
A Friend has supplied an interesting diagnosis as to exactly what the problem
is when young people tombstone into the icy cold spring water.
Tragic drownings: Apart from the tendency of lads to believe 'it can't happen to
me', they could do with understanding an automatic, physiological response of
the body to finding itself suddenly in cold water. Someone (Ben Fogle?) was
talking on TV some time ago about having to train his body not to kick into the
response, I think when he was going to the Arctic or Antarctic and was quite
likely to fall into the freezing sea. When you hit cold water, your mouth tends
to open, and you take a big 'breath' in, but of course if you're in water, this is
likely to be a big gulp of the water, some of which may go into the lungs. This
sets off a train of panic that easily leads to drowning, whether or not the
person is a capable swimmer under normal circumstances. Not the kind of
thing that is common knowledge, but it should be.
Mulberry Tree project updates
Andy Laffan has contacted us regarding the
George Bernard Shaw Mulbery tree. “I just
thought you might be interested in a
sculpture I created back in 2008. It was
carved from the remnants of the original
Mulberry tree which was blown down by
gales in 2000 and is currently on public
display at the Coach House Theatre in
Malvern.” See the picture left – the dimensions are 150 x 220 x 400
(mm).
We have also caught up with Rachel whose Mulberry Saplings
Bernard and Bernadette from Australia are now on the short list for
planting in Great Malvern near a spring soon. These are illustrated
below in a secret location awaiting their big moment.
Another Friend writes: “Those Mulberry Trees are everywhere! I sat
under one in Beddington Park in Wallington the other day, quite
unexpectedly. We need a Mulberry Tree appreciation society with a
web site.”
Perhaps a Shaw Mulberry Tree Register on-line is required….any
volunteers?
Gothic Well beyond redemption - for the immediate future
In our newsletter 52 we
raised the plight of the
Gothic Well and
the blocking off of the
street entrance. We
submitted on behalf
of Friends, a letter of
concern to MHDC
Planning Dept. They
have now investigated
and reply that whilst it
is disappointing that the
original features of
Gothic Well have been
blocked up, it is
considered that the
works to the wall would be classed as maintenance/alteration to the wall, and as such are permitted
development by virtue of Class A, Part 2 Schedule 1 of The Town and Country Planning (General
Permitted Development) Order 1995. We can only thank Paul Clements of Planning Dept. for
investigating the circumstances and hope that some future owner of the property will wish to restore
the unique original features.
In the picture – the street entrance that is no more.
RIP.
Dr Gully’s Liverpool Chalybeate Spring
Liverpool was developing as a port and needed
building stone as early as the 16th century and a
suitable quarry was dug not far from the docks. In
1773 the quarry workers discovered a chalybeate
(iron-bearing) spring. It was thought then, and it is still
said, to have medicinal properties and be efficacious
for stomach problems, rickets, sore eyes, nervous
disorders, lowness of spirit and loss of appetite. In
their History of Liverpool of 1810, John Corry and
Thomas Troughton reiterated Dr Houlton's claims of
the water's efficacy. He said that, among other things,
it promoted appetite, aided digestion, 'strengthens the
stomach caused by excess', strengthened the whole
constitution after debilitating illnesses, was useful in
diarrhoea, diabetes, gout of the stomach and bowels,
and was useful in the first stages of consumption 'if
the matter spit up be good pus', and in the more
advanced stages of consumption
Dr James Gully become Malvern's most famous and
wealthy hydropathic doctor in the 19th century. Circa
1814 the young James Manby Gully emigrated from
Jamaica to Liverpool. The Gully family lived in a double-fronted house in Upper Parliament Street, a
short walk from the chalybeate spring. This raises the question, when he was living near the old quarry
did he get involved in any way with the healing spring? Was this the inspiration for his subsequent
interest in the water cure? The spring and quarry are sited on St James' Mount, which was created as
the first Liverpool Park in 1767. This was a place to promenade and provided a viewpoint over the
harbour and town. The old quarry was landscaped and, until 1936, was used and known as St James’
Cemetery. The Mount was the site chosen in 1901 to build a new
Anglican cathedral. Thus the spring would likely have been used
when the Gully’s were living in Liverpool by the public for its curing
properties. Unlike Malvern’s Hills pure water or Leamington’s
saline, which can both be bottled and exported, chalybeate water
needs to be drunk at source: the iron remains in solution until it is
mixed with air, upon which the ferrous oxide separates and forms
an orange deposit wherever it falls, and the water is far less
efficacious when drunk. It is interesting to note that when Dr Gully
later arrived in Malvern he secured the Chalybeate Spring or Dog
Well as it was previously known for his patient’s water cures.
The old quarry can be seen today with its impressive gravestones
and the spring making a central feature. One of the two entrances
to the cemetery is through a stone arch from Upper Parliament
Street, where the Gully family lived. In 1830 Dr Gully’s mother died
and was buried in the cemetery. Also Dr. Gully’s sister is buried
there. Did Gully see invalids drinking at the spring when he
attended the funeral? It is said that the chalybeate spring is
Liverpool’s last running spring but, it seems, almost nothing is
known about it. Might
it have inspired Dr
Gully to come to
Malvern, and to secure
Malvern's Chalybeate
Well for the benefit of
his patients?
It takes a lot of bottle - That’s what Friends are
for
Have you spotted these collector bottles around Malvern
recently? We were delighted to see that Friends were
featured on a bottle of Diet Coke and then to our
amazement we see that Friends MS & W are on a bottle
of regular Coke. Keep a look out for this unusual piece of
Malvern memorabilia.
Roly leaves us but the legend lives on.
We were very sorry to hear of the death of Roly Bayliss in
August 2013. He was a local Malvern Hills commoner
who grazed his animals on the hills. He became
legendary when he grazed goats near Holywell, allegedly
illicitly, which brought him into conflict with the
Conservators. The spring outside his home however
became known as Goat Spring because his goats were kept in the vicinity. In later years the story of
the goats was something that always brought a smile to his
face when mentioned. He was a great Friend and will be
missed. For more details of Goat Spring go to
www.Malvernspringsandwells.com and click on number 70.
In the picture Cora chats with Roly Bayliss.
70 Words for Water
It is widely believed that Sanskrit, an Indo-Aryan language, is
the oldest and most systematic language in history. It was
developed at least 6,000 years ago and is associated with the
language of India. Today it is the primary liturgical language of
Hinduism and a literary and scholarly language in Buddhism
and Jainism. Sanskrit contains so many words that, with
affixes, can express almost anything. For example, there are
70 separate words to describe water. In English, if we talk
about hot water, we add the prefix 'hot': Sanskrit has one word
- usnodaka. If we talk about a water melon, we add the suffix
'melon': in Sanskrit one word, suvartula, says it all.
Here are some Sanskrit words that reflect water from the
Malvern Hills:
kupajala - spring water
vahasa - a spring from which water flows
utsya - water from a well or fountain
audapana - water raised from a well or drinking fountain
nivesya - water spout
dharmakupa - holy well
viksara - mineral water – see picture
To find out more visit the spectacular Hindu Temple in
Neasden in North West London. NW10 8LD.
Contact Information:
Friends main website – www.MalvernWaters.co.uk
Newsletter Archive go to - www.malvernsprings.com
Renewal of Friendship - Due to the ever increasing numbers of Friends, we have to make a small
charge for mailing occasional Newsletters of £10.00 for 6. If you receive a renewal notice with this
newsletter please send it back completed, if you want to continue receiving newsletters. In this way we
can ensure our mailing list is kept up to date. Emailing is free of course; just let us know if this is more
convenient.
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