St Ann's Well, Malvern

A carte-de-visite showing a view of St Ann's Well, a natural spring on the slopes of the Malvern Hills above Great Malvern, Worcestershire.

The waters of the well were thought to be restorative and during the nineteenth century many people came to Malvern to undergo a 'water cure.' In this photograph, the well room is on the right; the octagonal building on the left — today a café — was added in 1860.

Numerous photographic prints can be seen on display in the windows, and there is a photographer with his camera on a tripod standing in front of the right-hand window. According to a website devoted to the history of Malvern, the Octagon was occupied by photographer Thomas Bennett. After his death in 1877, the business continued in the hands of his wife and daughters.

Photographed by Francis Bedford