Publications about the Hanleys
The Parish Link
Our local magazine with news, what's on, local contacts and interesting articles.
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There are ten issues per year, including two double issues (July/August and December/January) delivered directly to your door.
The 2023 annual subscription rate is £6, or pro rata if you subscribe part way through the subscription year.
Copy and any accompanying artwork/photos should be emailed by the deadline (15th of the month), for inclusion in the following month's issue.
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All contributions are welcomed, from a few lines to a full article. If you do not think writing is your main skill, don't worry, the editorial team will help edit your contribution and check for sense, conciseness, spelling and punctuation, etc. The important thing is to communicate with, inform and interest your fellow villagers and hopefully amuse them at times too. For more information click here.
Walking in the Hanleys
Written by local resident, Mrs Marjorie Nelson, 'Walks in the Hanleys’ features seven local walks, covering Hanley Castle and Hanley Swan. It includes detailed descriptions, maps, points of interest, and historical notes. It was first published in 1995, has sold over 7,500 copies, is regularly updated and feedback is always welcome.
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Available locally from Hanley Swan Village Stores, Malvern and Upton upon Severn Tourist Information Centres, Blackmore Caravan Sites, and The Map Shop in Upton upon Severn.
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The Hanleys: A history of Hanley Castle and Hanley Swan
A book by Malcolm Fare.
In June 2010 a new illustrated history of the parish of Hanley Castle was published by The Hanleys’ Village Society. The Hanleys: A History of Hanley Castle and Hanley Swan by Malcolm Fare contains 150 illustrations and many accounts of what life was like in the villages in the past. It traces the history of the manor and the castle, views the drama of the Civil War through the actions of the two leading families – the Lechmeres and the Hornyolds – who found themselves on opposing sides, looks at how estates were consolidated by the enclosure of common land at the end of the 18th century and identifies the changing occupations of villagers as seen through the census returns from 1841 to 1911.
As well as recording accounts of village life in the early 20th century, the book traces the development of the shops, pubs, churches, and schools that have played an important part in the lives of local people. The changing appearance of one of Hanley Swan’s focal points – its much-loved pond – is illustrated by many old photographs.
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Published with the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the book is available from Hanley Swan Village Stores, local bookshops and tourist offices at £10.
Hanley's Historic Houses
A book by Malcolm Fare.
An illustrated book about some of the older houses in the parish of Hanley Castle has been published by The Hanleys’ Village Society. Written by local historian Malcolm Fare after 3 years’ research into county and family archives, Hanley’s Historic Houses describes 90 houses of historic interest and some of the people who have lived in them over the centuries.
A fold-out map identifies where they are located and suggests a walk linking them, starting at Hanley Swan Village Stores.
The properties range from a 15th-century cottage to a brewery and from a home for orphaned boys to a country house hospital for soldiers wounded in the Great War. Among the people who lived in these buildings were an 18th-century inventor of a universal sundial, a 19th-century fish breeder who also invented an alarm gun for catching poachers, a naval surgeon who served during the First Opium War, a breeder of prize cattle and sheep who also designed an agricultural society silver medal, a civil engineer who introduced the Bessemer steel process to India, a matriarch who, by the time she died at the age of 91, had 43 grandchildren, hop and cider merchants, market gardeners, countless farm workers and domestic servants, and the king of Greece.
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Many of the older houses were constructed in two periods during which there was a mini building boom in the parish: firstly, in the second half of the 17th century when about 40 farms and cottages were built following the sale by Charles I of one third of Malvern Chase; secondly, in the 30 years from 1810 to 1840, when the growing attraction of Malvern’s spring water led to an influx of people seeking cures for various ailments and wanting to live nearby. Around 100 houses were built or enlarged in this period.
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The book costs £10 and is available from the Village Stores.