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Floral Thanksgivings

One of the Peak District’s most beautiful and enduring traditions is that of well-dressing, which takes place in about twenty villages each summer. It is a custom which is unique to the Peak, although other communities have since copied it. It has become a Christian ceremony today, but probably originated as a pagan thanksgiving to the gods who gave the villagers the precious gift of water.

The village well or spring is `dressed’ by decorated boards, which usually convey a Biblical theme. As must have been the case in the past, a modern well-dressing is very much a community effort. Everyone is enlisted in the task of collecting natural materials-flower petals, seeds, bark, grasses, and lichen-which will be used later to create the floral icon.

The design is pricked out in the moist clay which covers the boards, and then gradually filled in using the collected material. Flower petals are cleverly overlaid, like tiles on a roof, to give the final result a measure of weatherproofing. This final task is known as `petalling’ and the whole process, which takes about a week, is completed when the boards are erected round the well.

The village priest blesses the wells (some villages like Tissington and Youlgreave have several) and the dressing stands for about a week-attracting the admiration of thousands of visitors.