Canal Depicted at Pilsley Well Dressing

[cheshire~rose]

The good people of Pilsley have seen fit to use Chesterfield Canal, and The Dawn Rose wooden boat as the subject for one of their well dressings this year.

 

 

Doesn't it look amazing?

 

I have just seen the news here:

 

http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/general-news/678-pilsley-well-dressing

 

You can read the full article there along with photos showing how the design is made. I think it looks fantastic!

 

I am hoping to nip over there one evening and see it for myself. It is interesting they chose the canal as a subject as Pilsey is not along the line of the canal and is around 8 miles away from the closest part of the canal at Tapton Lock

 

If anyone else is in the area and wants to have a look at it then be quick as it finishes on Thursday 23rd July.

[Athy]

Chesh, I remember the well dressing season well (?) from my boyhood - but you have just mystified a great number of CWF colleagues who will have no inkling of this unique Derbyshire tradition.

 

Basically, for a week or so each year, old village wells in villages in the Derbyshire Peak District are dressed up with tableaux, often depicting biblical scenes. I have never quite known what they were made from, perhaps leaves and petals embedded in clay or something similar. The villages of Marsh Lane and Youlgrave are two which I remember taking part. They all used to be within a week or two of each other, but I think that the season is more spread out - perhaps to bring in more tourists, though I hope not.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Athy

[cheshire~rose]

Thanks Athy, yes I had not considered that many readers of this forum might not know what a well dressing is. I think I was introduced to them in my teens when I moved north to Lichfield and my parents who had recently found out about this ancient tradition. I can remember gong to Tideswell where we were met with a wonderful village celebration with bunting, home made cakes for sale and tea available on the lawn at the parish hall. I suspect back in the early 70's this type of village festival was on the decline

 

I am not certain but I suspect that the tradition has either been resurrected after many years absence in some villages or (perhaps the cynic in me thinks) some villages have "jumped on the bandwagon" and now dress their wells - how much of that is to attract tourists and how much is to bring the village community together for a celebration is hard to define. I know that bunting, home made cakes and tea on the lawn are now fashionable again so, if it helps bring a community together then I am all for it!

 

This page gives an explanation of the tradition for those who are not aware of it: http://welldressing.com/extra.php

 

Anyone wanting to visit a well dressing can take a look at the list of those still to come this year here: http://welldressing.com/calendar.php

[Athy]

Ah, Tideswell, Cathedral of the Peak...the memories come flooding back!

 

The well-dressing tradition has never dies out but, as you suggest, a look at that calendar reveals that there are now far more villages (and towns) dressing their wells than there were a couple of decades ago. This, even if there is some commercial motive behind it, is a Good Thing.

[Nightwatch]

I only dress well when going somewhere special.

[Athy]

I only dress well when going somewhere special.

[David Schweizer]

We lived in the Peak District of Derbyshire for a number of years and, through our occupations, became involved with the dressing of several wells. Whilst the process of preparing the frame is undertaken over the preceeding week, the petal dressing takes place over the night before the frame is erected in the morning.

 

There was always friendly rivalry between different teams, but there was also a sence of Community spirit and co-operation, with team members visiting the other halls etc where the work was being done and also often begging petals of a particular colour needed to complete a dressing. Although it was probably not legal at the time many of the pubs also seemed to stay open all night and did a brisk trade.

Edited July 20, 2015 by David Schweizer