This film is from the Nowell collection and was made by filmmaker Fred Brackenbury. The film contains lots of intertitles which explain the art of Well Dressing as well as giving lots of examples of the types of decoration that are used to cover the wells. Title-The Beauty of Well Dressing Title-Well-dressing is a beautiful and remarkable craft, kept up only in Derbyshire. How it began historians can only surmise. Title-Unless one has seen these dressings, it is difficult to appreciate the...

This film is from the Nowell collection and was made by filmmaker Fred Brackenbury. The film contains lots of intertitles which explain the art of Well Dressing as well as giving lots of examples of the types of decoration that are used to cover the wells. Title-The Beauty of Well Dressing Title-Well-dressing is a beautiful and remarkable craft, kept up only in Derbyshire. How it began historians can only surmise. Title-Unless one has seen these dressings, it is difficult to appreciate the love and care which the people put into this work. Men, women and children gather at the corner of a road, incluidng a man wearing a motorcycle helmet.  They have all come to look at the well which has been covered with a decorated, wooden frame. The well has been decorated with religious pictures and quotes, which have all been made with tiny pieces of coloured paper. A close up of one section shows the carpet like texture on the well-covering. Some of the quotes decorated onto the wells are: `come let us pray', 'Light of the World' and `Faith Hath Made Thee Whole'. There are pictures of the three wise men, Mary and Baby Jesus and many other religious icons.  One of the wells has the inscription "Service above Self", and is for Rotary International, which seems to have won first prize. A crowd of hikers gather around and look at the well covering; some take photographs and the camera takes lingering shots of some of the detail. There is an embroidered piece with `1953, ER II' on it. Two open back vans have been adorned and decorated to look like horse-drawn coaches. They are covered in pink and white pieces of tissue paper and many locals stop by to look at them. Many of the houses have paper chains hanging from them, as well as decorated railings and roofs. One house has a sign which reads `to the wells'. The next section opens with a shot of a young woman, the Well Dressing Queen, wearing a garland of flowers in her hair and a cloak around her shoulders. There are a few other young women wearing flower garlands and dresses. Following this are a group of young girls in white dresses and head garlands, dancing around the May pole; a crowd of people have gathered in the street to watch. There are more well-dressings with the phrases `in the beginning' and `The Last Supper' on them. Some women see the camera and move out of the way so that who are standing in front of a well, move out of the way when they see the camera. A young woman wearing a crown and cloak sits on her throne on the back of a decorated truck; several hand maidens sit beside her. A sign on the truck reads `Ashford Carnival Queen'. Several other heavily decorated trucks and floats drive by, each with a Queen and hand maidens. A troupe of majorettes and a Highland marching band make their way along the road. Title-We have only been able to touch on the fringe of this fascinating and historic custom of Well-dressing, but we hope you have seen a little of its glory. Title-The End.