The 'Wells'

During the 19th century, it was believed that ‘taking the water’ from wells at inland spa towns was beneficial to the health.  Signifying the presence of a mineral spring, the name derives from the town of Spa, Belgium, where drinking the water, which was iron bearing, was believed to cure illnesses, caused by iron deficiencies, in medieval times.

Towns with spas tended to be names Wells or Spa or Bath and the main Welsh spa towns were no exception with Llandrindod Wells, Builth Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells becoming popular destinations.  Llandrindod was perhaps the most popular of all.

The Spa at Llandrindod Wells

Dr. Wessel Linden had proclaimed the healing properties of the sulphuric mineral waters at Llandrindod in 1756 and this sparked an interest in the town.  However, the popularity was short lived as the potential for making money attracted gamblers and drinkers to the town.  There followed a decline in fortunes which was not halted until the mid-nineteenth century with the advent of the railway in 1865.  The easy access by rail and the attractive countryside made the wells popular with visitors and numerous hotels, shops and other amenities sprang up to cater for as many as 80,000 visitors a year.  Local newspapers listed the notable visitors to the town and these lists provide a valuable insight into the type of person who enjoyed ‘taking the water’; they were mainly of the wealthier sort, bringing large entourages of servants.

The grandeur of the buildings in towns such as Llandrindod stem from the popularity of the waters and the wealth that the visitors brought with them. Llandrindod’s heyday as a spa town was at the end of the nineteenth century and the onset of the First World War signalled the end of the popularity of spa towns and of taking the water.