100 years ago

The only thing certain about litigation is its uncertainty. The actions to which the Ledbury Urban and Rural District Councils were the plaintiffs and the Malvern Urban Council and Messrs Meredith Bros of Gloucester were the co-defendants, came on for hearing before His Honour Judge Harris Lea at the Ledbury Crown Court in the 19th inst. And from the progress made that day, judge and counsel agreed that the proceedings would occupy a week. The claims of the two Ledbury councils were for £457, in respect of expenses for road repairs said to have been incurred by reason of the extraordinary traffic in hauling pipes and other materials from Ledbury station to Bromsberrow in connection with the recently completed water scheme. Malvern News, July 28, 1906.

THE cuckoo has not yet taken its departure and it was seen and heard in Mabel's Furlong this Monday morning. This is exceptionally late and it is a reminder that the summer was a long time coming, this year. Ledbury Free Press,

July 30, 1906.

50 years ago

Bernard Shaw's Day (the 100th anniversary of his birth) was celebrated in Malvern by a gathering at the mulberry tree he planted just 20 years ago. Wendy Hiller (the actress who played Eliza Doolittle and other Shavian roles) placed a plaque in the presence of civic heads, and just before the ceremony in Priory Park, an invited audience in the Festival Theatre saw films of Shaw at Malvern and of the tree-planting ceremony. Malvern Gazette, July 27, 1956.

LEDBURY'S new fire station in Bye Street was formally opened on Thursday by Mr G F Chambers, chairman of Herefordshire County Council. He outlined the history of the fire service in the town and said that the first record of a fire brigade in Ledbury was in 1793, when a manual fire engine was bought for £80. Ledbury Reporter, August 3, 1956.

25 years ago

SOME of the mysteries surrounding the gravestones in St Matthias churchyard, Malvern Link, are gradually being uncovered by a team of teenagers. The job of clearing years of weeds and undergrowth in the graveyard north of Church Road was taken on by the St Matthias Wednesday Youth Club. Already they have uncovered a hoard of old coins and, almost incredibly, a K-registration motorcycle, which has been taken away by the police. Malvern Gazette, July 30, 1981.

THE pupil-teacher ratio down at Ledbury Preserves each Sunday morning must be the best in the world. At the moment, there is just one motorcycle trainee receiving instructions from the half a dozen or so motorcyclists, who turn up faithfully each week to run the RAC/ACU training course. Ledbury Reporter, July 30, 1981.