
Little Malvern, A Shadowed Sanctuary
Little Malvern Priory, Little Malvern, Worcestershire, England, UK
March 31, 2024, 12:47 UTC (13:47 local time)
© 2025 Robert Bilsland, All Rights Reserved.
While Great Malvern's Priory is a well-known landmark, a lesser-known historical site exists just a short distance away. About 3.5 miles south, tucked into the Malvern Hills, is Little Malvern Priory. Despite being visible from the popular walking trails, this church remains surprisingly unvisited.
Founded in 1125, fifty years after Great Malvern Priory, Little Malvern was a smaller Benedictine monastery. It typically housed just 10 to 12 monks at a time, who followed the monastic life until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537 brought their community to an end.
The land and remaining buildings then came into the possession of a local family, who constructed Little Malvern Court, incorporating the 'Priors Hall' and on the site of the monastic cloisters. By 1864, the Priory Church had fallen into such disrepair that its barrel vault roof collapsed and required rebuilding. Thanks to subsequent renovations, this often-overlooked piece of history, somewhat hidden in plain sight, stands today.
Taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G fisheye lens. Mounted on a Nodal Ninja 5 panorama head and R-D16 rotator atop a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod. 9 bracketed shots (-4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4) taken at 6 positions 60° apart, tilted 15° down, and another shot taken looking straight up. Raw files then processed in darktable v5.0.1 before being stitched together using PTGui 10.0.19 Pro and converted using Pano2VR 6.1.15 pro.