THE hills and commons of Malvern are rightly regarded as one of the scenic glories of England, but what made them the way they are?

That is the question that's answered in The Forest and Chase of Malvern, the latest book from distinguished local historian Pamela Hurle.

It's a book that Mrs Hurle has been meaning to write for more than 30 years, after she first began to look into the history of the Malvern area.

"My first book, Beneath the Malvern Hills, was published in 1973, and after that I looked at the parishes like Hanley and Upton," she said. "I thought then that I should do something about the Chase and the Forest, but I went on to do books about Malvern and about some of the schools."

The book opens in the mists of prehistory and moves swiftly along to William the Conqueror, who was the first to claim the Malvern area as one of his royal hunting areas - hence the term Chase which has lingered to this day.

Mrs Hurle describes how the area was administered in medieval times and what life was like for the inhabitants, and then the trouble that arose in the 16th century between the Knotsford and Hornyold families.

The book moves on through the Civil War, which caused a large-scale loss of trees, subsequent encroachments and enclosures and the birth in the 19th century of the conservation movement, which arose at the same time that Malvern began to earn popularity as a tourist destination.

Mis Hurle said that her aim was to produce a book that is authoritative and informative, but also interesting to the general reader who wants to find out more about the area's history.

"I think it's very important that local history should be linked with national history," she said. "In the chapter on the Civil War, I describe how Charles I sold his rights to Malvern Forest so that he could raise money without having to summon Parliament. That had a permanent effect on the landscape."

"I'm particularly pleased that the book includes maps from the 17th and 18th centuries which haven't been published before," she said.

The Forest and Chase of Malvern is published by Phillimore, priced £17,99, and is available from good bookshops and Malvern's Tourist Information Centre.