House of Hope and Glory!
Home where stirring Proms classic was born (but sadly it’s not going for a song)
Brian Claridge
WHEN the BBC Proms reach a flag- waving climax later this year, fans will fill the Royal Albert Hall with a typically rousing rendition of Land Of Hope And Glory. The lyrics, written in 1902 by academic A. C. Benson, are set to Edward Elgar’s stirring Pomp And Circumstance March No 1.
Now the house where Elgar wrote perhaps his most famous work is on the market for £585,000.
Elgar rented the four-bedroom Birchwood Lodge, just outside the Worcestershire village of Storridge, from 1898 to 1903. It was also where he composed his choral work The Dream Of Gerontius, and the song cycle Sea Pictures.
Elgar was born just outside Worcester and lived in and around nearby Malvern for many years. Indeed, the Malvern Hills and its countryside inspired many of his compositions. When he was living at Birchwood Lodge, he said: ‘The trees are singing my music, or have I sung theirs?’
The Reverend Mike Vockins, the current owner of Birchwood Lodge, says: ‘It’s a wonderful quote from Elgar and sums up his love for the idyllic countryside where the cottage is situated.
‘We still have beautiful woods close to the cottage and the scenery is just as stunning as it was in Elgar’s days.’
Birchwood Lodge’s master bedroom was used as a study by Elgar during his time there. And correspondence from Elgar to friends shows how much he loved being at the property. He started letters ‘Birchwood (in peace)’ and ‘ Birchwood Lodge, near Malvern. Saturday, date and month and year unknown ’cos it’s Birchwood’.
OTHER features of the house include a dining hall, kitchen/diner, study (which doubles as a fifth bedroom) and large utility room. The living room has parquet flooring, a dual-aspect window and patio doors leading out to the back garden.
Outside there are two paddocks and a stile leading to a copse. The paddocks are currently used by a neighbour for grazing livestock.
The garden features a number of vegetable beds and a variety of plants and shrubs, and also has an established pond. In front of the house is a small orchard, while the back garden has views of the Cotswolds and Worcester Cathedral.
The house, set in two acres, is approached via a shared driveway from the lane. Above the front door is a plaque commemorating Elgar’s time at Birchwood Lodge.
During his stay there he made enquiries to purchase it but was told that it was not for sale. And at one point his friends clubbed together to try to buy it, knowing how important it was to him.
Mike and his wife Eileen, who are both in their 70s, have lived there for 34 years. Mike, who was chief executive of Worcestershire County Cricket Club for 30 years until 2001, says: ‘Eileen and I have enjoyed living here and the views of the Malvern Hills and Cotswolds are breathtaking. I’m sure Elgar drew inspiration from the idyllic setting to write some of his great works.
‘ The main reason we are moving is to downsize. Our daughters have flown the nest now and the house has become too big for us. We feel very privileged to have lived in the same house as Elgar and we have enjoyed meeting his fans, who come to visit the former home of their favourite composer.’