Well Dressing

Rolleston on Dove's first well dressing has received an accolade from Welldressing.com. 

The unsolicited opinion of www.welldressing.com the Internet site for definitive information on well dressings in Derbyshire and neighbouring counties was:-

"ROLLESTON ON DOVE: a superb rendition of St George and the Dragon (not the first we had seen that day, the Parish Church dressing at Tansley was also on that theme), very hard to believe this is a first timer. Although perhaps not as meticulously precise in execution as some of the long established dressings, it showed excellent use of colour, and particularly of texture. No hesitation in giving this one three stars straight off. The location outside the Almshouses on Burnside is highly photogenic. The sun behind the dressing was beginning to be slightly problematical for photography after about 5.30pm, but not insuperably so; easier than having the sun on the face of the dressing. The dressing was accompanied by a colourful flotilla of miniature boats floating on the Burn itself. These had various themes such as Noah’s Ark, the Owl and the Pussycat, and so on. And they were still afloat after some quite heavy showers of rain."

The well dressing formed the centrepiece of the Traditional English Events Day organised by Rolleston on Dove Special Events Committee. The design was by Colin Brodie, who also made the boards and framework. The central motif was St. George on horseback and a dragon, and other panels showed scenes from around Rolleston, including many buildings, the Alderbrook, the weir, a fisherman in Brook Hollows, and even a tractor going along Church Road. The whole process, from puddling the clay, pricking out the design and outlining the motifs, to the final petalling and erection was carried out by an enthusiastic group of villagers of all ages. The clay was "begged" and the flowers were sponsored by the local butcher, Ian Barker, whose large wooden pig held its own bunch of flowers.

The "well" (actually a pump outside the Almshouses) was declared open by the Mayor and Mayoress of East Staffordshire, Councillor and Mrs. David Whitmore, and "Queen Elizabeth I", alias Lesley Smith of Tutbury Castle, was in attendance (pictured above).