IT IS an art form special to Derbyshire, even though the "well
dressings" are not often connected to the wells that were once so
important a part of the local community. This one, with a theme
commemorating the start of the First World War, is in the small
village of Mellor, which is actually in Chester
diocese on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border. It was designed by
Louise Smith in an art-deco style, and the Vicar, the Revd
Alexandra Sanders, blessed it (pictured), watched by the
Rose Queen.
A much bigger display of well dressings was to be found in and
around Derby Cathedral during June and early July, when children, a
youth group, and "mums over 50" worked with artists from Spiral
Arts to produce the first ever Well Dressing Trail around the
Cathedral Quarter.
They were made in the traditional fashion, in frames packed with
clay (though not first soaked in the river as they used to be), the
design marked out on the clay and then each section filled in with
flowers, petals, leaves, seeds, and coloured gravel. Many were
displayed on the floor of the cathedral, but also around the area
including the Central Library and the Tourist Information
Office.