I've taken you to Tissington several times over the years I've been writing this blog but never at Well Dressing time. I wanted to visit the village during the well dressing festival as I have happy memories of school trips there. My mum always used to say that Spring turned to Summer the day we children boarded the bus to take us the thirty five miles from school in Scarcliffe to Tissington.
There were about thirty children at our school and I'm not sure if all of the three classes - known to us as baby class, middle class and top class - went along. I guess it would probably have been the older children. My overwhelming memory is of the heat of the day, coats and cardigans soon abandoned, smelly sandwiches in greaseproof paper bags - usually fish paste or egg and bottles of pop. I remember the cattle grid at the gated entrance to the village - it's still there.
Of course life is much busier now and there is a special entrance and parking at the top end of the village and a one way system to exit.
According to the booklet, given to us as we paid to park, the origins of Well Dressing may well have had their roots in pagan times but later given Christian meaning. One theory is that the custom began just after the plague or black death of 1348-49 to give thanks for the purity of the water from the wells which they thought was the reason that the village population all survived.
Another theory is that the tradition recalls that during the severe drought of 1615 the five wells of Tissington kept flowing freely and the surrounding district were grateful for the supply of water from the village. A thanksgiving service was held and the wells were decorated each year after.
The boards on which the images are to be made are soaked in the village pond and then plastered with local clay which has been mixed with salt and trodden to reach the right consistency. The design is then traced onto the boards and marked out with coffee beans before the task of applying the petals begins. Here is some more information about the process. Everyone in the village contributes in some way in dressing the wells, digging clay, gathering flowers and assembling the dressings ready for the start of the festival.
There are six wells now in the village which we wandered around. There were also several bric-a-brac stalls, an art exhibition and a craft exhibition in the village hall. Coffee from Herbert's Tea Room halfway round was most welcome as we sat and people watched for a while. There were lots of dogs too and a special ice cream van just for them. I also met four lovely cats along the way. It's a very cat friendly village.
Here are the Well Dressings.
Hands Well
Children's Well
Hall Well
Yew Tree Well
So interesting to read about the well dressings and history and lovely photos of the different wells. There must be a lot of effort put into the making of each one. What a great place to go too from primary school when you were little.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny what you remember from school trips, this was always our one trip out each year, the bus also used to take us once a week to the local swimming pool a couple of miles away. Other than that it was nature walks around the village woods and lanes. Tissington is a very pretty village and apparently each household has something to do in some way with the well dressings:)
DeleteQuite a tradition
ReplyDeleteIt said in the leaflet that the only time they didn't have well dressings was during the war/wars:)
DeleteThey are amazing and thanks for sharing the history of them. I can't comprehend the amount of petals they must use. Take care & hugs.
ReplyDeleteThey must be collecting flowers for the petals for days before around the area, fields and gardens. There are some beautiful gardens in the village too and a flower nursery. Take care:)
DeleteA lovely place to visit and somewhere I’ve never been. B x
ReplyDeleteWell worth a visit if you are ever in the area. Close to Ashbourne and Dovedale too. There is a walking/cycle trail from Ashbourne to Tissington:)
DeleteAs beautiful as ever. I wonder how they keep coming up with new designs.
ReplyDeleteI guess each year a committee comes up with a general theme. I love the one about the end of the Ashbourne to Buxton line, which is now the Tissington Trail:)
DeleteWell done to everyone at Tissington for another splendid display. Fancy using a coffee bean to mark out the display. 😊
ReplyDeleteThey all put on a fine show. Yes, I wondered about the coffee beans too, they obviously don't disintegrate if they get wet:)
DeleteThe well dressings are lovely and it is so nice that the whole village is involved in some way. A real community spirit. Thank you for sharing the history and tradition of Tissington's well dressing.
ReplyDeleteI think it is probably the oldest and largest of the well dressing festivals and the community uphold that tradition which is good, everyone was smiling and happy, even those working under presure in the cafe:)
DeleteI've never seen or been to a well dressing. It looks like a lovely tradition to keep. It really is a blessing at the purity of the water in the wells given the state of of waterways these days! How lovely to have attended a school with only 30 pupils! There were 30 pupils in my class alone! Have a lovely week Rosie. x
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely tradition to carry on over the years. My primary school was a small village school but when I went to the next school, a grammar school a few miles away by special bus, there were about 30 pupils per class - it was so different and took some getting used to. I've tried a couple of times to leave a comment on your latest post but google won't let me even though I am logged in, I find this happens on some blogs now but usually I can leave an anonymous comment with my name on, I enjoyed reading about all the things you have been doing since your last post:)
Delete