Sunday 25 January marked the joyous and merry occasion of the inaugural West Malvern Wassail – at least the first in the recent past of the village.
The event highlighted many of the creative talents in West Malvern. It began with singing at the pub, led by West Malvern Voices. Then the rowdy ‘Guisers’ arrived, wearing the most fantastical animal headgear, including a large horse with a hinged and very expressive working jaw and a Green Man. They forced a noisy entrance to the pub, harassing drinkers and demanding free food and drink – a request robustly denied by Kim! There was a brief exchange between Kim and the Green Man, during which she handed him the withered old ‘Wassail wreath’ to be replaced by a new green one at the Wassail and displayed in the Brewers for the next 12 months … until the 2027 Wassail!!
On leaving the pub, the whole throng processed down to the Elim Car park accompanied all the way by local musicians playing Vo Fletcher’s ‘West Malvern March’- revived from the 1994 150th anniversary of the village. Once at Elim, Beacon Morris did their magic, with the animals dancing along. Then the ‘Butler’, Adam Warren, led the procession to St James’ Church Orchard. There, he performed traditional chants and rhymes, dowsing a chosen apple tree with cider and toast to revive it and ensure a bumper harvest next year, accompanied by lots of noise from the crowd and frequent shouts of ‘WASSAIL’.
The event had the full blessing of our very own Vicar, Becky Elliott, who had prepared a piece welcoming all and inviting anyone interested to get involved in the orchard development project by contacting the church. A wonderful crowd of over 200 people of all ages, including many young families, created a magical winter atmosphere as dusk fell and the lanterns glowed.
Many other local volunteers were involved as well as the performers - people holding lanterns, lighting the fire pit, marshals to keep the procession safe and on track, and not least the Friends of the Brewers and Lee and Kim for mulled cider, apple and parsnip soup and apple muffins. A fabulous effort by all involved who helped to make this such a happy and memorable community event. Until next year …
Wassail / Waes Hael/ Be in Good Health to all in West Malvern!!
And last but definitely not least, huge thanks to Stella Tew for conceiving and coordinating the whole event!
27 January 2026