Originally built around the source of Scarborough's spa waters, it is owned and managed by North Yorkshire Council.

The Spa Ocean Room is used for dances, conferences and other events, including the Scarborough Jazz Festival and Coastival.

The waters, which stained the rocks a russet colour, tasted slightly bitter and were said to cure minor ailments.

The house, a wooden structure where the waters were sold and dispensed, provided basic amenities to visitors eager to try their curative effects.

By the mid-1700s, Scarborough was established as a seaside resort and a spa town, with horse racing on the beach, boating and sea-bathing.

Joseph Paxton, the landscape gardener and architect responsible for the grounds of Chatsworth House, designed the complex that opened in 1858.

It comprised a central assembly hall with adjoining galleries and outside, the sea wall was extended to encompass a double promenade and carriage road, a colonnade with shops, an open air bandstand and the prospect tower.

Additions and alterations have been made, and a major restoration programme was carried out in the early 1980s to reinstate some original features and decorative styles.

Current health and safety legislation prohibits public access to what remains of the well, which is located beneath the island, opposite the shops.