Well Dressing

The blessing of the watersupply, in the form of the well, is an ancient ceremony which has recently been revived for the tourist industry. The practice had declined in the area during the 20th century and had virtually died out by the 1950s.

Some sources attribute the practice to the period of the Black Death in 1348-9, when probably a third of the population of England died of the disease, but some villages such as Tissington were untouched. The local people attributed this to their clean water supply and gave thanks by 'dressing' the village wells. However it seems very likely that the practice goes back much further than this - probably to pagan times - and the fact that many well dressings have a 'well queen' suggests echoes of ancient fertility rites.

The practice is continued mainly in the limestone villages of the central and southern peak with a succession of different villages dressing their wells between the end of May and early September. Traditionally Tissington is the earliest in late May, and Eyam is the last of the large festivals at the end of August. The construction of the well dressings is a skilful art in which almost the whole local community are involved - at least in the small villages.

After the well dressing is erected next to the well it is blessed in a short outdoor service and usually a brass band will be hired for the occasion. Since many of the towns and villages have several wells, there will then be a procession around the town to bless each one in turn - villages such as Eyam are notable for this. The well blessing ceremony is usually the signal for the start of a week of celebrations (or 'wakes') with a range of events culminating in a carnival at the end of the week.