Canon Richard Orchard opens Stoney Middleton's 74th Well Dressing

3.08.00pm GMT Sun 19th Jul 2009

Joy relaxing when the work of designing and petalling the Main Well was complete.

Canon Richard Orchard returned to Stoney Middleton where he was vicar for fourteen years on Saturday to open the Well Dressing. Speaking to a large crowd he said it was a privilege to be asked to return to what he described as a "Real Village" where families have lived and worked together for generations. He continued: "They all come together with incomers like me to work to save the school and dress the wells."

Richard reminded the village that it would be 75 years next year since the tradition of Well Dressing was revived in Stoney in 1935. This year was the 250th anniversary of the building of the new hexagonal Georgian nave behind the Norman Tower of Stoney Middleton Church - an earlier example of local effort which was followed in 1835 by fund raising to build the local school which will celebrate its 175th anniversary next year.

The main well was designed this year by Joy, who can trace her family in Stoney Middleton back 11 generations to the middle of the 17th century. The theme was "He will give his angels charge over you in all your ways"

The design of the children's well this year was inspired by one pupil who drew hands holding a number of faces. This led to the song "He's got the whole world in his hands!" The design couldn't included everything the children wanted - certainly not the whole world: so many children had so many ideas. But the one thing which had to be included was the rainbow - a feature from so many of the children's well dressings.

Finally the Bath Well, with it's beautiful reflection in the spring, features a stained glass window with a dove of peace with the Derbyshire countryside seen through the window and was designed by Jill Askey.

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