Review of Peter Naylor and Lindsay Porter's book Well Dressing, by Julie Bunting
This review is by Julie Bunting, and was published originally in
The Peak Advertiser, the Peak District's local free newspaper,
on 17th June 2002, and is reproduced with Julie's kind permission.
WELL DRESSING
by Peter Naylor & Lindsey Porter
A simple title for a superb book, published to coincide with the new
season's well dressings. From the external appearance of the book, with its
large format and glossy full-colour cover, it might be mistaken for a
'coffee table' publication but nothing could be further from the truth. It
is a true work of record by two authors who between them share deep
interests in local history, photography and local traditions.
Well Dressing is the first hardback book to be published on this popular
custom which is often said to be unique to the Peak District and Derbyshire
in general - a claim which the authors firmly lay to rest. No matter; 200
actual wells were dressed in 89 Derbyshire villages last year, the closest
competitor being 13 displayed amongst 5 Staffordshire villages. Wirksworth
alone can have as many as 14 dressings on display. And as the authors
calculate: 'If 200 person hours is ascribed as an average for each dressing,
a grand total of 45,800 person hours which at 40 hours per week would equate
to 22 years!'
On the subject of figures, Sir Richard FitzHerbert reveals in his
introduction to Well Dressing, that around 50,000 people visit Tissington
well dressings each year.
Though we should not forget that this beautiful custom is a form of
thanksgiving, it is all about vibrant colour, as we can see from almost 200
stunning photographs in the book. The older black and white pictures have a
nostalgic charm too, beginning with the earliest known illustration of 1837,
the year Queen Victoria came to the throne. The custom of course goes back
much further but the dearth of written records has meant that Naylor and
Porter have had to work hard to unearth much of the detail brought together
for the first time, especially those which have lapsed.
The Bible continues to provide strong inspiration for designs but visitors
can never be quite sure to expect. The tradition may be old but there is no
need to be a stick in the mud (perhaps that should be clay) - what price the
children's well at Foolow which featured Pokèmon and gave the year as 2K?
We can see all age groups at work in this book, reminding us that well
dressing holds an important place in community and often in family life.
Says Peter Naylor of fellow dressers, 'They will suffer backache, headache,
clay on their clothes ... and enjoy euphoria experienced when the well is
erected in its temporary resting place. There is no experience quite like it
and the writer has seen many a grown man cry at this point.'
Most importantly the authors answer the question as to whether well
dressings always decorate wells - or should that be springs? - and even
whether all the sites have anything to do with water at all. The nine stages
of the method are given in detail, a sort of 'teach yourself well dressing'
course which alone is worth the price of the book!
Well Dressing, by Peter Naylor & Lindsey Porter, is published by
Landmark Publishing
of Ashbourne, priced £19.95. Widely available in local outlets or
by order, quoting ISBN 1-84306-023-X
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[Created 28 May 2002. Last updated 24 Oct 2008 - 11:02 by Rosemary Lockie]