Macclesfield News - written by local people

Dressing progress - corn, coffee & chamomile

Our 2008 theme was "Music", with the quotation "Music washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life". This was a tribute to one of our band of helpers, and one of our most vocal supporters, who passed way last year.  This is the 8th year we have produced well dressings, since we brought this ancient Peak District craft to this part of East Cheshire in 2001.

The finished product - "Music"

The main picture shows water erupting from an old gramophone horn, with floating musical notes, to flow down a series of water falls into a pool. The surrounding panels show a series of musical instruments - piano, cornet, bagpipes, bongo drums, electric guitar and harp, with a larger-than-life piano keyboard on the lintel. In the bottom left is a cartoon depiction of three choristers from Sutton St. James Church.

Cartoon choristers from eggshells

The dressing preparation took place in the week leading up to 12th July, when the finished boards were erected together onto the village green, like a giant jigsaw, or Jenga, puzzle to produce a large work of art, where it remains for a week.

One of the ~"dollies" - the year in a tambourine

The boards are wooden frames, filled with 1" deep layer of damp clay into which are pressed natural organic materials such as seeds, berries and petals to form a giant collage.

2008 dollies completed

Designs are first drawn full-size onto paper then transferred to the clay one panel at a time using a dot-to-dot approach by pricking along the lines with a needle or cocktail stick, The paper is then removed, the outlines firmed up with seeds etc and the filling in with less durable materials commences.

Erection of the boards in progress

Obtaining suitable materials is very weather dependent and this year our mainstay - hydrangea petals - were in very short supply due to the cold, wet weather and we had to resort to buying bushes from garden centres and stripping the petals.

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle...

It takes a team of men to transport the finished frames to the village green for erection, and - despite the roots of the custom being a thanksgiving for water - we always hope for clement weather, as severe wind and rain (or even baking sun) can shorten the life of the dressings.

See our website - www.suttonwells.net for full details, more photos, and details of how you can become involved.