Crich (with Fritchley) - Well Dressing Festival 2017
w/e 16 July 2017
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
We are now well (excuse the pun) into the Well Dressing season
and the centre of Crich on Saturday 8th July was testament to
another one where four works of the art were on display.
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The four panels had been erected above the troughs that contain
water for animals but not for human consumption in the Market
Place.
The pictures made by pressing flower petals, leaves and other
natural materials into clay had each been prepared by a different
group or organisation namely, the 1st Crich Scouts, Glebe Day
Care, Crich Pre-School and the Church of England Infant School.
Legends and Saints was the theme for the Festival and all of
the eleven dressings scattered around the village contained the
number "3" in the design - and most were extremely
difficult to find.
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We left the Market Place and set off up Bowns Hill towards the
Tramway Museum.
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Our first port of call was St Mary's Church where a Well Dressing
service to bless all the wells was held.
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Two more panels were inside the church which, after the service,
were both moved to other locations. One went to stand at the
gates of the church and the other to Ram Furniture on Carr Lane
in the village. The Saint depicted here is Mother Teresa and
the legend, the Derby Ram.
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Our next stop was at the National Tramway Museum which has its
home in a former quarry at Crich overlooked by Crich Stand, The
Sherwood Foresters' War Memorial. The Well Dressing here featured
the Green Man, the legendary keeper of the woods.
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Less than 200 yards down the road from the museum is the Cliff
Inn and although the panel by the door is not at a well it is
adjacent to a watering hole of sorts.
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The panel itself features the patron saint of gardeners, cab
drivers and florists, Saint Fiacre and was prepared by the local
Horticultural Society.
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The ninth of the eleven Well Dressings is a mile from the Cliff
Inn along Carr Lane to an area known as Crich Carr which is near
Whatstandwell. Standing at the Church of England Primary School
the picture shows the Mermaid Pool on Kinder Scout which local
legend says is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by an underground
tunnel.
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The final two panels in the Festival are just over a mile to
the south of our starting point at the Market Place and are actually
in the neighbouring village of Fritchley. These are by the Church
of England School and Fritchley Pensioners and both depict saints,
Francis on the left and Christopher on the right.
The panels are positioned either side of the door of Fritchley
Congregational Chapel in the centre of the village. Although
the Festival at Crich and Fritchley is now over, there are still
Well Dressings to be seen at various places in the county until
September. See the Well Dressing website for more details.
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