Tideswell Well Dressing 2026

Peveril Castle, Castleton, Derbyshire The ancient custom of Well Dressing is only found in and around the Peak District and is the art of decorating springs and wells with pictures made from natural materials. Well dressings are made by making a picture from flowers, leaves and a variety of natural objects, inserted into a panel of clay. Before work can begin, the frame is soaked in water for a few days before a clay base is trowelled in.

In Tideswell, the design is transferred from the paper to the clay base by ‘pricking out’, making a series of cuts along each line of the picture like a dot-to-dot puzzle. The design is outlined using sweet cicely seeds, alder cones and sometimes beans, then ‘coloured in’ using natural materials such as flower petals. Well Dressings in Tideswell are then displayed around the village from very early on the morning of the first Saturday of Wakes Week.

The Well dressing in Fountains Square usually incorporates a building or structure in the main central panel with other related scenes and depictions related to this.

This year’s Well Dressing consists of a series of images depicting Peveril Castle, a ruined 11th Century castle which towers above the Village of Castleton, a short ride on the 173 Bus from Tideswell. The Castle was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, it was granted to William Peveril, a knight loyal to William the Conqueror, and is strategically placed to guard the Royal Forests and rich lead deposits found nearby and for which the local area was renown for.

The Well Dressing has taken a week to complete with many volunteers helping to create it. The teams receive no funding so even if you can help them with even a small donation towards the cost of flowers it will be gratefully received.