Monument to Speer family in Great Malvern Cemetery

Summary

A monument to the Speer family, dating from c.1876 and thought to have been designed by Henry Haddon, and possibly carved by William Forsyth.

Reasons for Designation

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The Monument to the Speer Family, of c.1876 and thought to be by Henry Haddon and William Forsyth, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* The monument is a sophisticated example of late-C19 funerary sculpture, with good, elegant detailing and a strong design.

Historic interest:
* As a monument to a multiple members of the same family, designed by a known architect.

Group value:
* The monument has good group value with the listed Monument to Jenny Lind and the listed cemetery buildings.

History

This monument to the Speer family stands in Great Malvern Cemetery, and is thought to date from around 1876.

The head of this branch of the Speer family was Alfred Miles Speer, a merchant born in Dublin, Ireland in 1825 who had homes in London and Malvern. Alfred was married to Margaret Ann Speer, née Milford, and together hey had four sons: Joseph Templeman Speer, William Henry Speer, Alfred Ernest Speer and Frederick Arthur Speer.

It seems likely that this monument was commissioned by AM Speer in 1876, when his eldest son Joseph was killed in an accident in France on the 3 January that year, aged 19. At that time, AM Speer was in the process of building a new house for himself in Malvern, which was known as The Priory and was constructed between 1874 and 1880. The architect of this new house was Henry Haddon, who had a local practice, and this association at this time would suggest Haddon as a likely designer of this monument. The intricate carved details may have been produced by William Forsyth, who was carrying out similar work for The Priory at the time. Comparisons with the carved detail of other tombs executed by William Forsyth, including the Perrins family tomb at Claines, near Worcester, and the WB Williamson tomb in Astwood Cemetery, Worcester, would seem to support this.

In total, this monument commemorates seven members of the Speer family. In order of their deaths, they are Joseph, eldest son of Alfred Miles and Margaret Speer, d.1876; Elizabeth, mother of AM Speer, d. 1877; Alfred Miles Speer, d.1894; Margaret Ann Speer, d.1909; William Henry, second son of Alfred and Margaret, d.1937; Marion, wife of William Henry, d.1945 and Lionel Arthur Templeman Speer, grandson of Alfred and Margaret through their fourth son Frederick, d. 1981.

Details

A monument to the Speer family, dating from c.1876 and thought to have been designed by Henry Haddon, and possibly carved by William Forsyth.

MATERIALS AND PLAN: the monument is constructed of stone and lies approximately 30 metres east of the Anglican chapel at Great Malvern Cemetery.

DESCRIPTION: the monument takes the form of a large table tomb supported on four squat columns of pink granite, and a central column of limestone or sandstone. The top slab one large piece of stone, with a cross carved in relief with carved leaf decoration at its ends, on the shaft and around a central circular section. At each corner there is carved an angel, with hands folded towards the breast and large wings fanning out along the sides of the monument. Along each edge is Decorated Gothic style ballflower-type carved decoration.

The four corner columns have moulded bases and capitals with carved foliage capitals. Underneath the top are two bowls, possibly in marble, which are contained in triangular pedestals and which each have heraldic style shields bearing inscriptions to the members of the Speer family commemorated here. The bowls suggest that these originally sat outside of the tomb and may have held flowers.

The tomb stands on a large stone plinth with chamfered edges, itself on a stone base.

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Brooks, A, The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, (2007), 461

Websites
The Life and Works of James and William Forsyth, accessed 18.05.17 from http://www.theforsythbrothers.com/

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.