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Newland Fete 2012

This year Newland fete hosted by the Beauchamp Community was held on Saturday 30th June 2012, sharing the proceeds with The Save The Children Fund whose volunteers organised stalls. Also on offer was a talk about the history of the community chapel by Father Mark.

The weather throughout June had been mostly wet, but fortunately the rain held off and the sun peeped through the clouds. Here are some photos of the event, including a little about the history of the alms-houses.

We entered through the archway into a large grass quadrangle. Above the archway is an impressive clock tower.

The archway and clock tower
Plaque on Beauchamp Community clock tower

Plaque

There is a plaque on the wall of the clock tower  that reads:

The electric winding on this clock was installed by his American kinsmen as a memorial to the Honourable Richard Lygon who died on February 24th 1970.

Richard Lygon (1916 - 1970) was the youngest son of Wiliam Lygon the 7th Earl Beauchamp. Richard did not succeed to the title because he died before his elder brother William the 8th Earl. William left no male heir.


Brass band

Music was provided by the Malvern Chase Brass Band.

The Malvern Chase Brass Band

The photo below looks  west across the quadrangle. To the right under an umbrella you might just see the ice cream seller who brought his New York style barrow from Worcester. We got a couple of yummy cornets there.

In the quadrangle at Newland

On the left of the photo below you can see the honey tent where fresh honey from the hives in the garden of the community could be purchased.

The honey tent (on the left)

History of the alms-houses

We were told in a talk about the history of the chapel that Charlotte Scott the wife of the 3rd Earl Beauchamp, John Reginald Pyndar Lygon, thought it unfair that after a lifetime of service on the Madresfield estate, elderly agricultural labourers were forced to leave their tied cottages to make way for younger workers. Charlotte died in 1846 leaving funds in her will for the building of alms-houses at Newland. Her husband John married again and died in 1853, but it was not until about 1864 that the alms-houses now known as the Beauchamp Community were completed. This suggests most of the building work took place during the tenure of the 4th Earl Beauchamp General Henry Lygon who died in 1863.

The chimneys of the alms-houses

A feature of the alms-houses is the ornate chimneys which must have added significantly to the cost of the buildings.

Little is said about John and Charlotte in the book 'Madresfield the Real Brideshead' published in 2008.

John who married Charlotte in 1814 changed his surname from Lygon to Pyndar and we wondered why. The reason is straightforward. William Lygon died 1721 and left no living male heir, so the family descended through Margaret Lygon who married Reginald Pyndar. This also explains why John's youngest brother, who became an army officer, was called Edward Pyndar Lygon.

Lady Charlotte Scott was the daughter of John Henry Scott (1739 - 1798) who was born in Ireland and became an MP and Barrister.

The Beauchamp Community chapel

The present chapel building dates from about 1867. The interior is beautifully decorated with many frescoes illustrating bible stories.

Click to go to photos of St Leonards

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