Welldressing

Well Dressing probably originated in pagan times, being thanksgiving to the gods for the gift of water. Derbyshire still has villages that give thanks for their water by creating large floral pictures comprising petals, seeds, pulses, leaves and other natural products. These pictures are held in clay and displayed for a week around the village at the original sites of wells, springs, and in some villages at the site of old standpipes and taps. Most of the villages that hold Well Dressing ceremonies are sited on limestone beds where the water drains through the rock very quickly after a rain storm leaving the ground dry again, obviously a difficult place to exist in times past with limited access to water.

The tradition of Well Dressing has been handed down over the generations and Youlgrave Village has some of the most experienced dressers in the country making Youlgrave one of the main Well Dressing villages in Derbyshire(the village even has it’s own water supply provided by the local spring managed by Youlgrave Waterworks company). Every year in June the Youlgrave water supply is celebrated with five Well Dressings. A theme is chosen for the well dressings and drawn up on paper, these are then transferred onto wet clay ready for decoration with hundreds/thousands of petals,leaves, seeds, pulses etc. In the week prior to the Well Dressing ceremony teams of people spend hours preparing the pictures. In some villages if you are in the village the week before you can get your hands dirty and help make the pictures.

The Youlgrave Well Dressing ceremony is held on a Saturday afternoon in June. The procession through the village is led by the Youlgrave Silver Band and each well dressing is blessed along the route.  People come from far and wide to join in the procession, our own children have joined in the fun since they could walk. It is a very traditional way to spend a summer’s afternoon, with plenty of tea and cake along the way. Although I say summer’s afternoon on many occasions it has been raining (well we are celebrating the gift of water).

If you fancy a step back in time along with the promise of tea and cake (always works for our family) see the Peak district Tourist listing for all the Well Dressing dates. Make sure you have a really good look at the well dressings and see if you can name the plants, seeds, etc that have been used, and finally make sure you have your brolly just in case it rains.