Quaker architecture at Malvern Quaker Meeting House

Malvern Quaker Meeting House, a Grade II listed building, is a well-known landmark on Orchard Road, between Malvern College and the Malvern Theatres. It is not routinely open to the public, except when its rooms are being used for worship or by hirers for weddings, meetings and children’s play sessions. The Meeting House was designed and built for Malvern Quakers in 1937-38, and its main room is used twice a week for Quaker Meetings for Worship.

In 1937 Malvern Quakers bought the land at 1 Orchard Road and appealed for funds to build a new Meeting House. They were encouraged by the Quaker Cadbury family, and Malvern’s proximity to Bournville led to J R Armstrong, architect to the Bournville Village Trust, being asked to design the building. His design was influenced by Arts and Crafts principles, often used for Meeting Houses in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Historic England, who listed the building in 2019, note that ‘the meeting house is one of only a small number to be purpose-built in this era and remains an excellent example of the tradition as it was to be found in the interwar period’.

The oak furniture in the Meeting House is designed in keeping with the style of the building and built by Bryn Mawr Furniture Makers, which had been formed by Quakers in Wales during the Depression in an attempt to relieve the mass unemployment and economic hardship of the time. The Meeting House was formally opened on July 2, 1938, by Charles Cadbury.

Timings & Tours

Monday 15 September:

14.00-17.00

Thursday 18 September:

09.00-12.00

Location & directions

1 Orchard Road, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3DA

Directions:

From the Malvern Theatres, walk down the signed footpath from Grange Road’s theatre parking to Orchard Road. The Meeting House is at the Priory Road end.

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

The accessible entrance is at the rear of the Meeting House: follow the tarmac path to the left of the building round to the rear door, and enter by wheeling up a slight ramp.

Additional information

While the Meeting House is a place of worship, it is also a community resource for hire, and regularly welcomes loud and cheerful visiting children and family parties. Please come and enjoy the space.

Max no of people per tour:

30

Est. tour duration:

0 hour(s) 30 minute(s)

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