Welcome to Wedderburn Road!
This road cannot boast of any famous event or personality. It is just one of many ordinary streets that nestle under the glorious Malvern Hills. And yet…… this special community in Wedderburn Road is bursting with stories and news that should be told and shared…….
This website was inspired by a local history booklet compiled by Wedderburn Road residents. The booklet was written to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It explores what it was like to live in the road over the last 120 years. If having explored this site, you would like a copy of our booklet, please contact us.
Click on the picture to find out more about the images it contains.
Wedderburn Road History
With the first houses built in 1901, the history of the road spans the 20th century and beyond.
The information on our First World War heroes will attract much wider interest.
The changes experienced by the residents of Wedderburn Road and Malvern in the Second World War provide some fascinating insights into how civilians responded to national crises with good will and humour.
Living conditions fifty or one hundred years ago were never squalid but they were basic.
Households relied much more on garden produce and domestic animals such as pigs and hens.
The more prominent role of the local shop as well as daily deliveries of milk, bread and groceries also offer an interesting comparison with life today.
These and so many more recollections of life as it was in Wedderburn Road can be found here.
So, what was it like to live in Wedderburn Road?
Life for those living in the road was fairly typical for a small working class neighbourhood in the 20th century. It might appear to be unremarkable to the outside. Yet the details that emerged from this small scale research make the story extraordinary. Hopefully the recollections will open up a window on how earlier generations coped in periods of economic and political uncertainties. These shared memories should help us to relate to real people who lived, worked and played in our road. We are then able to connect with those whose homes we now live in and gardens we still tend. Links with the past then make more sense. Features such as orchard trees, a pigsty, a drain cover or pony shoes provide real connections with former communities.
Sources
The information on this website has been drawn from interviews with residents of Wedderburn Road who have lived in the street for many years. Local history resources available from Malvern Museum have been useful too. Further information about these sources can be found on the Resources and Links page.
Correcting and Expanding the Available Information
There will doubtless be some errors or factual inaccuracies in this history. Much is based on memories of events of 50 years ago and more. Hopefully the research is sound but readers with more information may question some of our interpretations. Please accept our apologies for any mistakes or omissions. Better than that, tell us about these by leaving a reply on the relevant page. Then we can correct them and also expand the history of our road.
We would especially like to hear from former residents or people researching the family history of those who lived in Wedderburn Road.