Tideswell Well Dressing Take a look back in time at one of the Peak District and Derbyshire’s most ancient and visually stunning customs. The origins of Well Dressing are a mystery, thought to date back to the Celts or even earlier.

Well Dressing is the traditional art of decorating springs and wells with pictures using only what nature can provide. To set the foundation for the pictures, a wooden board is soaked for a few days before it is filled with soft, wet clay. Every village then has its own way of transferring the outline of the picture to the clay. Some use wool, others use bark or alder cones, known locally as ‘blacks’.

The picture is then ‘coloured in’. Some villages call this ‘petalling’, but different villages have different methods. In Barlow, this is known as ‘flowering’ because, instead of petals, they use whole flower heads to decorate the picture.

 These intricate and detailed pictures can take a team of people up to seven days to complete and the dressing will only last about a week before the clay dries and cracks and the flowers fade.

Well dressing in progressThe good news is that the Well Dressing season runs from May to the middle of September each year, so you can find fresh and original designs in different villages every week throughout the summer. Full of mystery in its origins and dedication and skill in its execution, this ancient custom offers a valuable insight into traditional Derbyshire heritage.