Editing Well dressing (section)

==History==

Well dressing was celebrated in at least 12 villages in Derbyshire by the late 19th century, and was introduced in [[Buxton]] in 1840, "to commemorate the beneficence of the Duke of Devonshire who, at his own expense, made arrangements for supplying the Upper Town, which had been much inconvenienced by the distance to St Anne's well on the Wye, with a fountain of excellent water within easy reach of all".{{sfn|Norman|1993|page=138}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Buxton well dressing of 1856|date=28 April 1858|work=[[The Derby Mercury]]|location=Derby}}</ref> Similarly, well dressing was revived at this time in [[Youlgreave]], to celebrate the supplying of water to the village "from a hill at some distance, by means of pipes laid under the stream of an intervening valley.".<ref>{{cite news|title=Well dressing|date=10 August 1842|work=The Derby Mercury|location=Derby}}</ref> With the arrival of piped water the tradition was adapted to include public taps, although the resulting creations were still described as well dressings.

The custom waxed and waned over the years, but has seen revivals in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, [[South Yorkshire]], [[Cheshire]], [[Shropshire]], [[Worcestershire]] and [[Kent]].<ref>{{citation|title=Malvern Well Dressing History|publisher=Malvern Spa Association|url=http://www.malvern-hills.co.uk/malvernspa/well-dressing/welldressing.html|access-date=12 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804140039/http://www.malvern-hills.co.uk/malvernspa/well-dressing/welldressing.html|archive-date=4 August 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.hargate-hall.co.uk/well-dressing-history.php|title=The History of Well Dressing|year=2008|work=Hargate Hall|access-date=20 April 2010}}</ref>

In [[Tissington]], Derbyshire, well dressing may have begun as a pagan custom of offering thanks to gods for a reliable water supply; other suggested explanations include villagers celebrating the purity of their water supply after surviving the [[Black Death]] in 1348,<ref>{{cite web |title=Well Dressing |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Well-Dressing/ |website=Historic UK |access-date=22 March 2025 |quote=Tissington was the first village to re-introduce well dressing in 1349, after the village managed to escape a terrible outbreak of the Black Death that swept through England at this time.}}</ref> or alternatively celebrating their water's constancy during a prolonged drought in 1615.{{sfn|Christian|1976|pages=206–207}} The practice of well dressing using clay boards at Tissington is not recorded before 1818, however, and the earliest record for the wells being adorned by simple garlands occurs in 1758.{{sfn|Shirley|2017|page=653}}

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180 caption="[[Tissington]] well dressing">
Hands Well Tissington 2006 - geograph.org.uk - 179997.jpg|Hands Well, 2006
Dressing of Children's Well - Tissington 2010 - geograph.org.uk - 1875293.jpg|Children's Well, 2010
File:Fitzherbert School Well dressing - Tissington 2010 - geograph.org.uk - 1875310.jpg|Fitzherbert School Well, 2010
File:Hall Well Tissington 2013 - geograph.org.uk - 3457394.jpg|Hall Well, 2013
File:Tissington handswell blessing 2015.jpg|Blessing of Hands Well, 2015
</gallery>