A NEW book has been published extolling the virtues of churches in Malvern.

Great Malvern Priory and the spire of Holly Mount are just two of the architectural masterpieces which proudly adorn the landscape.

The Churches and Chapels of Malvern is the work of John Dixon, a leading member of Malvern Civic Society, and it was his work for the society that led to his wriating the book.

“When I came to Malvern 13 years ago I noticed what a fine array of Victorian churches there were,” he said.

“In 2007 the society had its heritage weekend and I was asked to produce a leaflet telling people about the churches.

“The work I did for that was the starting point for the book.”

The book features 33 places of worship that are still in use today, and a further dozen or so that still exist as buildings but have been converted to other uses.

One of the points he noticed during his research that of all of them, only the two priories, Great Malvern and Little Malvern, are truly ancient, with every other one dating from the Victorian era or later.

“This brings home what a new town Malvern really is,” he said.

“Most of the churches were built in Victorian or Edwardian times, as Malvern expanded after becoming a spa town.”

Mr Dixon wishes to thank Roger and Christine Sutton for their special help in producing the book.

The Churches and Chapels of Malvern is published by Greyhound Self Publishing and printed by Aspect Design of Newtown Road.

It is available, priced £6, from the TIC, Lyttelton Well, the Priory, Malvern Museum and Malvern Book Co-operative.