Great Malvern Priory

The Midlands & the Marches


The 11th-century Great Malvern Priory is packed with remarkable features, from original Norman pillars to surreal modernist stained glass. The choir is enclosed by a screen of 15th-century tiles and the monks' stalls are decorated with delightfully irreverent 14th-century misericords, depicting everything from three rats hanging a cat to the mythological reptile, the basilisk. Charles Darwin's daughter Annie is buried here.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Midlands & the Marches attractions

1. Malvern Museum of Local History

0.04 MILES

Straddling Abbey Rd in the grand Priory Gatehouse (c 1470), the town museum offers a thorough exploration of Great Malvern's claims to fame, including…

2. Morgan Motor Company

1.15 MILES

Morgan has been handcrafting elegant sports cars since 1909. You can see the mechanics at work on two-hour guided tours of the unassuming shedlike…

3. The Firs Elgar's Birthplace

6.41 MILES

England's most popular classical composer is celebrated at the humble country cottage where Edward Elgar was born in 1857. From mid-2018 the museum will…

4. St Michael & All Angels

6.43 MILES

The 12th-century church of St Michael and All Angels has a splendid 18th-century spire and tower divided from its medieval nave.

5. Royal Worcester Porcelain Works

7.05 MILES

Up there with the country's most famous potteries, the Royal Worcester porcelain factory gained an edge over its rivals by picking up the contract to…

6. Worcester Cathedral

7.07 MILES

Rising above the River Severn, Worcester's majestic cathedral is the final resting place of Magna Carta signatory King John. The strong-legged can scale…

7. Commandery

7.12 MILES

The town's history museum is housed in a splendid Tudor building that served as King Charles II's headquarters during the Battle of Worcester. Engaging…

8. Greyfriars

7.23 MILES

Friar St was largely chock-a-block with historic architecture until the iconoclastic 1960s when much was demolished, including the lovely medieval Lich…