Pump Room, Brine Baths And Reading Room

The mineral spring in Tenbury was discovered in 1839 by Septimus Godson, a landowner, as he searched for a source of drinking water. Augustus Granville visited in that year; he had written in 1837 The Spas of Germany, and went on to write The Spas of England and Sea-bathing Places in 1841. He analysed the mineral water, and advised Godson that Tenbury needed baths, pump rooms and other features such as promenades and hotels, to make it a spa town. A small brick bath house was built by Godson in 1840, but it was unprofitable and closed in 1855. With the coming of the railway to the town, the "Tenbury Wells Improvement Company" was established in December 1860 by local businessmen, in order…

The central entrance, on the south side, is brick-built and has a round archway; to the left is the assembly room and to the right are the former brine baths rooms, both having sheet iron roof cladding. The pump room, to the left of the assembly room, is a small octagonal timber-framed building with a conical roof. On the extreme right is a two-storey brick building, described in the listing text as a reading room, which is now a house.

The Pump Rooms are owned and managed by Tenbury Town Council. It is the location of the Town Clerk's office, and council meetings are held in the main Assembly Room. The Pump Rooms is a registered venue for civil ceremonies.