Well Dressing

The ancient art of Well Dressing is believed to have originated in pagan times when it was a ritual performed to give thanks for the gift of water and may possibly have been introduced to Britain by the Romans. the church banned it but the tradition refused to die and has survived to the present day in and around Derbyshire. At it's simplest it's the art of decorating springs and well with pictures of growing things. Wooden boards are filled with soft, wet clay on which a design is picked out and then coloured using petals and other natural materials such as leaves, cones and bark. It represents an hour of back breaking work and once complete will only last about a week before the clay dries and the flowers fade.

Well dressing in Newborough only dates back to 1978. The village had enjoyed such asplendid celebration for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 that it was decided to find an excuse for an annual party! The event is held on the early May Bank Holiday Monday each year, with the boards being prepared the previous week by young and old alike. Villagers rise at dawn to erect the three main boards at locations close to the village centre. A church service is held at which the May Queen is crowned and then everyone processes around the wells, which are formally blessed by local clergy. for the remainder of the afternoon we organise live musical entertainments including Maypole dancing and there is a family fun day with bouncy castles, games, stalls, etc. on the school field. Each year we aim to raise a substantial amount for charity, both within the village and beyond, raising thousands of pounds for good causes.