Well 'dressed' for first time in a generation

A historic well dedicated to the patron saint of Derby has been "dressed" for the first time in more than 30 years.

Well-dressing is a tradition dating back to pagan times which is practised in Derbyshire and other rural parts of England, where wells and other water sources are decorated with items such as flower petals and beads.

St Alkmund's Well, in Well Street, is designated as a listed building and used to be dressed on an annual basis but the tradition died out after the loss of the old St Alkmund's Church in 1968.

However it was revived on Monday thanks to the efforts of a group of volunteers.

The well dressing took place at 13:00 BST with more than 200 volunteers, following a procession at 12:45 from the Bridge Chapel in Duke Street to the site on Well Street.

The project has been led by resident Stephen Ramsden, who used social media during the Covid pandemic to raise awareness of the well's history, and Rosa Drohomirecka, who became involved after she saw his posts.

Rev Mina Munns, a vicar of St Alkmund's Church, also joined the project in 2023 and came up with the design for the well dressing, for which they had trial runs in 2023 and 2024 using decorations made by residents.

Mr Ramsden said: "To get to the point of dressing the well is amazing.

"The tradition of well dressing is a community thing, it used to be the whole of Bath Street and River Street that ran this, and had done this for centuries.

"I thought after lockdown, what better way to bring the community together. I'm hoping it will continue. I'm just so happy."

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