Wirksworth Well Dressing

The ancient custom of Well Dressing is an offering of thanks for the continuous supply of water. This once pagan custom has since become adopted by the church and many of the designs now have a religious theme.  At its simplest, it’s the art of decorating springs and wells with pictures made from growing things. The dressings are set in clay-filled wooden trays, mounted on a wooden frame. They take hours to complete, and townsfolk often work through the night to finish in the early hours of the first festival morning.

The Wells decorated by Wirksworth dressers are pure examples of this traditional art. Using only natural materials, e.g. flower petals, moss, lichen, fruit skins, seeds and many more things, imaginative designs are created from a wealth of colours and textures. The ancient methods of construction used in Well Dressing ensure that none of the decoration need be manufactured or chemically treated.

Wirksworth Well dressings are scheduled for May 2026. Blessings are usually at 10:30 on the Saturday starting in St Mary’s Church and the wells will be in situ for a week.

We also have our annual carnival procession on the same weekend, crowning of the Queen takes place after the blessing of the wells and the procession is 1300 on Sunday 24th May.

 In 2025 there were 12:

• 1. Memorial Gardens Well Dressings 2 dressings in the Memorial Gardens, next to the Memorial Hall on St Johns Street
• 2. Cruck Cottage Well Dressing 2 dressings on the site of the old Cruck Cottage on St Johns Street
• 3. Churchyard Well Dressings 2 dressings in St Mary’s Churchyard and the adjacent courtyard behind the buildings on St Johns Street
• 4. St Mary’s Church Well Dressing inside St Mary’s Church. Only accessible when the Church is open
• 5. Waltham House Well Dressing in the entrance driveway of Waltham House on St Johns Street
• 6. Red Lion Well Dressings 2 dressings on Harrison Drive outside the Red Lion pub
• 7. Wellspring Church Well Dressing outside the Wellspring Church on St Johns Street
• 8. Skopa Well Dressing outside the Skopa shop (former NatWest Bank) on the Market Place

Wirksworth is located on the B5023 from Duffield (on the A6) and the B5036 from Cromford (also on the A6).

 DE4 4DR for satnav