It is the remarkable natural springs that give Holywells its character and have shaped its history. During the eighteenth century a succession of brewers worked here and used the waters to make beer. The Cobbold family owned land at Holy Wells from 1689. They had begun their brewery in Harwich but had problems with the water there and for many years used ships to transport water from Holywells to Harwich and to return to Ipswich with beer.