Endon May Queen enthroned

Move your pointing device over the image to zoom to detail. If using a mouse click on the image to toggle zoom.
When in zoom mode use + or - keys to adjust level of image zoom.

Date:1911

Description:The May Queen, Miss Edna Brown, on the 'throne'. The crowning of the May Queen is part of the Endon Well Dressing celebrations.

Endon has the the longest tradition of well dressing in Staffordshire, beginning when the stone well head was built in 1845 at the expense of Thomas Heaton, a local landowner. The well dressing formerly took place on 29th May, 'Oak Apple Day'. The vicar added the crowning of a May Queen to the ceremony in 1868, together with a Church Service and maypole dancing. By 1906 the Endon Well Dressing had become a weekend-long event. The celebrations still thrive and nowadays take place over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.

The ceremony of well dressing is peculiar to Derbyshire and neighbouring areas, such as the Staffordshire Moorlands. It takes place in many different villages between April and September, but many, including Newborough near Burton-upon-Trent, take place on or around May Day. Other Staffordshire villages with well dressing celebrations include Mayfield and Longnor.

Share:


Ordering:Click the button to add the item to your basket. Follow the link for further information on ordering.

Creators: Mr J Pape - Creator

Image courtesy of: North Staffs Field Club

Donor ref:2002.003.0126 (37/21061)

Source: Staffordshire Museum Service

Copyright information: Copyrights to all resources are retained by the individual rights holders. They have kindly made their collections available for non-commercial private study & educational use. Re-distribution of resources in any form is only permitted subject to strict adherence to the usage guidelines.