Well dressers fighting to keep village traditions alive

Barbara Hall has been involved in the well dressing for almost 50 years

Organisers of the annual well dressing in a Staffordshire village say they are fighting to keep local traditions alive, whilst ensuring the event is accessible for all.

This year is the 181st Endon Well Dressing, which sees an elaborate set of decorative boards fixed onto the village's two wells.

There are fifteen boards in total, with 12 on the main well and three on a smaller well which is about 200m (218 yards) down the road.

This year's design commemorates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austin, the 60th anniversary of the passing of Winston Churchill and the 250th anniversary of the birth of artist JMW Turner.

Also being commemorated are the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the 70th anniversary of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Chief well dresser Barbara Hall, has been taking part in the event for almost 50 years.

"It's just a passion of mine, I call it my baby," she said.

She first began taking part in 1977, helping out with the jubilee year well dressing.

"We were involved in doing a big party and things, and I helped them do it then and I've carried on since," she said.

The designs are carefully pieced together over the course of a week

Ms Hall said the finished design made her feel "very proud."

She added: "I shall be sorry when I've got to give it up."

Her handiwork – along with that of about a dozen well dressers - is admired by thousands of visitors during the bank holiday weekend and is the centrepiece of the village's social calendar.

The work begins when the boards for the well dressing are soaked in the nearby brook or several days, before a layer of clay is applied which flowers and other natural materials – such as beech nuts and lichen – are later pressed into.

Moss is then pressed in around the edges to ensure the colours stand out.

The well dressers gradually build up the design over the course of a week.

Rob Barlow has been creating the well dressing designs for 21 years

Robert Barlow is responsible for designing the well dressing, and this year will be his 21st time doing so.

He said: "If there's any royal anniversary, major milestone for the royal family, I will always try and feature something with an association with the royal family."

Mr Barlow added: "We've got a good team of volunteers again this year, and it's gone together extremely well."

The well dressing usually takes about a week to complete, and volunteers are known to stay as late as 23:00 BST some nights to get it finished.

"It's hard work and everybody puts a lot of effort into it," Ms Hall said.

It takes a group of people about half an hours to assemble the finished design

On the Friday of well dressing week, a group of about a dozen people hoist the boards up – which are incredibly heavy by this point – onto the well, and into position.

Endon's is one of the largest well designs in the country when all 12 boards on the main well are pieced together, and the accompanying festival is also one of the longest-lasting events of its kind in the Staffordshire area.

The Endon well dressing is one of the biggest in the country

Mr Barlow said he most enjoyed the traditional feel of the festival – including the church services, May pole dancing and procession of the May queen – but that organisers had also tried to bring in modern elements to ensure it continued to appeal to future generations.

"As a community, we are fighting to keep those traditions going," he said, "but recognising that, as well, we're always looking to maintain a modern approach and make sure we're inclusive for everybody."