Well dressing festival returns to Chesterfield
Residents and visitors to Chesterfield can visit the town’s annual well dressing festival this September.
There will be two well dressings on display from Saturday 10 to Saturday 17 September.
The first well dressing, organised and constructed by Chesterfield Borough Council, will be on display at the town pump in the market place.
The theme is Beatrix Potter to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the children’s author and will feature the popular characters Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck and Mrs Tittlemouse.
Donations at the town pump will go to the mayor’s chosen charities – the Macmillan Cancer Centre at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Accessible Derbyshire.
The second well dressing will be on display in the porch of St Mary and All Saints, the ‘Crooked Spire’ church.
The well dressing marks the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Chesterfield and commemorates the occasion when the Earl of Derby, Robert de Ferrers, was found hiding behind the woolsacks in Chesterfield Parish Church and dragged to London to face King Henry III.
Donations left here will go towards the upkeep of the church.
Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Town Centre and Visitor Economy, said:-
“Well dressing is an old Derbyshire tradition and each year visitors come from far and wide to see the well dressings in Chesterfield.
“They can be sure of a warm welcome and the chance to admire the handiwork of all the volunteers who have taken the time to create the artistic displays.”