RESTORATION work at St Ann's Well, on the hills above Great Malvern, should be nearing completion by the Saint's Day, December 9, in time for a well blessing ceremony.

The Rev John Barr, of Malvern Priory, will bless the spring water at noon and there will be harp music played by Jon-athan Penley and a 17th Century poem in praise of Malvern water, performed by Master H and the Nonimous Minstrels.

Those attending will see the work done with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the pond and cascade, repair Malvern stone walls, improve planting and replace seating with original 'fern' benches.

The animal spring and cascade by the well house door are also being rebuilt as part of the scheme, which is the first of 14 Malvern's Heritage Project spring sites.

Rose Garrard, a mem-ber of the Malvern Spa Association, said: "St Ann was the mother of the Virgin Mary, but with the versatility of saints, Ann's name also corresponds with the names of earlier pagan mother goddesses across Europe.

"They were often as-sociated with beacon hilltops or sources of spring water."

St Ann's Well became popular in the 19th Cen-tury with people taking the Water Cure.

"Visitors, including Princess Victoria, were often carried up the hill by donkeys and the newly-restored side spring is thought to have been the watering place for these hard working animals," said Ms Garrard.