Well dressing is thought to have originated from Pagan times, a ritual performed to give thanks for the supply of fresh water. Another school of thought claims that the Romans introduced the custom into Britain, the philosopher Seneca –" where springs or rivers flow we should build altars or make sacrifices." Another suggestion connects the celebration with various outbreaks of plague, certainly the wells at Eyam were used as a means of outside contact during the 1600’s.

Whatever the true origin, the ceremony of well dressing is peculiar to the County of Derbyshire and the fringe areas. Tissington, recorded as dressing a well in 1349, is the oldest authenticated instance of well dressing in Derbyshire. The well dressing programme starts in early April and runs through until mid September.

A mosaic picture, built up from natural materials—flower petals, seeds, grasses, leaves, tree bark, berries and moss – is pressed into a 1 inch base of puddled clay, which is held within a wooden frame. The shape of the frames is almost as varied as the choice of theme. Some frames are sectional or recessed and have additions made over the years, the size is roughly 4 to 5 feet wide and 5 to 6 feet high, pinnacles and embellishments can add to this height.

Some well committees abide strictly to the rules of natural materials whereas others are more flexible in their approach to " natural materials." The themes for the well dressings were more usually of a religious nature, but recently, more modern themes have been adopted. For the 2000 Millennium year Derbyshire County Council asked the various well committees to adopt a literary theme.

There are no hard and fast rules of constructing a well dressing, but within the following guidelines, the well dressing takes shape.

To prevent the clay from drying out, a week before the scheduled date of the well dressing, the wooden frame is immersed in water for about 7 days. The clay is then hand picked to extract all the small stones and other debris from the mass, water is gradually added to the clay which is contained in an old bath. The technical term for this operation is ‘puddling ‘, the resulting revolting looking potage is trowelled to a depth of an inch into the previous soaked wooden frame

The weight of the puddled clay in the frame averages around 3 cwts, again, this weight depends on the size of the frame

An outline of the chosen picture is enlarged to the same scale as the intendedwell design, which is then laid on the puddled clay and pricked through with a needle. This results in an outline of the design being transferred to the clay base.

This pricked out outline on the clay base, is then either marked out with peppercorns or with black wool inserted along the lines of the design with a knitting needle.

Working from the base of the frame upwards, the outline of the picture is gradually filled in by pressing the chosen natural materials into the clay base. As a guide for those working on the well design, a coloured interpretation of the intended finished picture is used for colouring guidance. On average, depending on the size of the design, it takes about 20 people about 7days build the picture up to completion.

Some well committees are secretive in their choice of theme, only unveiling the finished well dressing on completion, whereas others welcome watchers, even advertising their venue and inviting bystanders to watch the well dressing frame being made up into the finished picture. Bystanders can be encouraged to press in a few petals.