How it started

In February 2018 a few of us living in Welland decided to set up Welland History Group, the aim being to gather material on the history of the village – its families, houses, pubs, shops, farms and fields. Local author Pamela Hurle published a history of Welland, Beneath the Malvern Hills, in 1973, which has proved invaluable and has become our basic reference book. We set up a website in 2023 which we are gradually populating with our findings.

https://wellandhistory.uk/

Postcard of Welland Church and The Pheasant c1910.
Welland village centre c 1910. Courtesy of Malvern Museum.

Welland’s early history

Welland was once part of Malvern Chase and a sub-manor of Bredon, but was assessed independently by about 1535. The bishops of Worcester were lords of the manor and owned much of the land for most of the village’s history. The core of the early village developed around the area now called Brookend on the eastern side of the parish. Welland Court Lane has Welland’s first vicarage, the old churchyard and grade II listed Welland Court. The village spread westwards with the gradual enclosure of common land. In recent years it has seen a significant increase in housing with the building of Pippin Drive, Spring Meadows Close, St James Close and Cornfield Close.

Archive and online resources

The Worcestershire archives at The Hive in Worcester contain many documents of relevance, such as court rolls from the 16th and 17th centuries, land tax records, the 19th century vestry books, deeds relating to the ownership of houses and fields, and various parish account books. We also use online resources such as census data, parish records of baptisms, marriages and burials, and newspapers.

Local families

Just as importantly, we are collecting photos and personal memories from residents or former residents. We are fortunate in Welland in having a number of ‘old families’ with members still living in the village itself or not far away.

Postcard of Watery Lane, Upper Welland, c 1920.
Watery Lane, Upper Welland, c 1920. Courtesy of Malvern Museum

Meetings

We hold informal and lively meetings at Welland Village Hall several times a year to share information and present our work.

Queries

If you have any queries about Welland’s history or any information you think might be useful to us, please use the contact form below to get in touch.

Wendy Gillespie




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