IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Assarts Road, MALVERN, WR14 4HW

Recent infill. The large older house in the trees near the top of the picture is called The Homestead. The grounds to the west have been developed with over a dozen houses (worth 3 million pounds or more!). Viewed from the path going around the eastern side of Black Hill.

A fairly new development cramming 14 or so detached houses in part of the garden of the Homestead. Viewed from Black Hill.

Viewed from the south end of Pinnacle Hill. The now built up area nearest the hills is locally known as Assarts whilst the more distant built up area to the right hand side is Upper Welland. The latter was known as Lower Assart in the pre inclosure years of the 1840s. Assarting was the medieval practice of clearing the hunting forest of trees to create farm land under licence. In 1196 the Bishop of Worcester was granted a licence to extend his assart at Welland Mill. The creation of these two areas may date from as far back as then.

Originally social housing (possibly owned by the Co-op) built around 1960 in the "field" above Heathlands Close off Assarts Road.

A very steep road equipped with a yellow grit box for those daring to venture.

A recent in-fill development squeezing 14 detached houses into the upper gardens of The Homestead. Viewed from the bridleway to Hanley Swan.

A recent in-fill development on the steep gardens of The Homestead. Viewed from Kings Road.

The area gets its name, Assarts, from the medieval clearance of a section of the Chase (hunting ground) under licence. On the 1841 Welland Tithe Map it is marked as Upper Assart Common. A decade later the Welland Inclosure Act allowed the common land to be exploited and it has slowly been consumed by housing developments. The Assarts playing field (top right) remains open for recreational use, though a corner has been fenced off for the Scout hut. Above that (towards the camera) there are three post war developments:- Heathlands Close, council houses, Wells Close, built by the Co-op I'm told, Woodlands Close, private detached built in the late 1970s. On the left of the photo the recent Homestead Close has been built in what was the garden of the large house "Heathlands". At the very bottom of the photo is the rather ornate Malvern Wells C of E primary school on the main A449 Wells Road.

At the junction with the very steep Assarts Road.

Between the Upper Welland road (right) and the infill housing off Assarts road. currently used for horses, but how long before this green space is swamped by houses?