At Friends of the Elderly Malvern, which includes Davenham, Perrins House and Bradbury Court – residents, the care team and clients from Malvern Day Care have been working together to create beautiful, sustainable handmade bird decorations for this year’s Malvern Waters and Well Dressing Festival.
From 2nd to 10th May, Friends of the Elderly Malvern will be participating in the 2026 Malvern Waters and Well Dressing Festival; opening its historical, iron gates and welcoming visitors to see the care homes’ beautiful grounds and strikingly impressive and decorated famous Well. “The Well – which is also known as St. John’s Well – is located at the front of Davenham Residential Care Home. It is instantly visible as visitors pass through the early 20th Century Art Nouveau style gates and go past The Gate House. Its ornately carved dragon sits proudly on its roof, which makes it a very special well and feature,” said Jo Bennett, the General Manager at Friends of the Elderly Malvern.
“The theme of this year’s festival is Birds which incorporates our regular garden visitors to the exotic, the fantastical, the dark and mysterious,” continued Jo. “The residents are keen ‘Twitchers’ and love to watch and admire the vast array of birds who visit our attractive gardens and also use the selection of Bird Boxes we have located throughout the grounds.”
“There are many different species of our feathered friends who not only visit our lovely gardens and grounds, but that are also native to the Malvern,” added Dawn Jones, the Activities Coordinator at Davenham. “The Malvern Hills and the surrounding areas are home to a varied assortment of birds who visit throughout the year. They include summer migrants, woodland species, ground-nesting birds, and birds of prey. Our resident ‘Twitchers’ have seen House Martins, Skylarks, Sparrowhawks and different Owls, as well as of their favourites, Robins – so there are a few of those which will decorate our unique well.”
“Many of the residents are also avid readers with active and creative imaginations,” continued Jo. “When we explained the theme, they wasted no time in designing and producing a bright, lively and colourful aviary of birds which are not only extremely eye-catching but also made from totally sustainable items.
“Many famous Authors wrote their unforgettable tales in Malvern, and the residents and day care clients are taking some inspiration from these stories. For example, many birds are mentioned in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which are said to be symbols of spring, hope, or loyalty to Aslan the Lion. In the story, Peter sees Owls as a sign of the amazing wildlife and nature in Narnia and says, ‘This will be a wonderful place for birds’; and just like the residents’ love of Robins, the cute, red-breasted birds feature strongly in the book as a Robin guides the Pevensie children to Mr. Beaver.”
This is the fifth time Friends of the Elderly Malvern has entered the Festival and, in the past, the decorated Well has won two Silver and two Bronze Awards. “This year, we are going for Gold,” added Dawn. “The historic St. John’s Well outside Davenham care home is quite extraordinary, with its ornamental bronze Well Head, spout and basin, it is an exquisite structure which will look not only majestic but also picturesque and charming once all the Bird decorations have been put in place.”
Friends of the Elderly Malvern also has two unusual hidden secrets – a sunken water garden and a charismatic grotto which are also located on the grounds. “Apparently, both the sunken water garden and grotto date back to the first decade of the 20th Century when Charles Dyson Perrins lived at Davenham,” continued Jo. “He engaged James Pulham, an eminent Victorian and Edwardian landscape artist to landscape the grounds,” added Jo.
“Everyone at Friends of the Elderly Malvern – the residents, care team and the clients from Malvern Day Care – are excited to be participating in this year’s Festival and looking forward to welcoming visitors, old friends and new, to enjoy and experience our stunning and beautiful grounds and the magnificently decorated St. John’s Well,” concluded Jo.
Find out more about Friends of the Elderly Malvern by calling 01905 388 720 or emailing [email protected].