By the end of the 18th century the custom in Derbyshire was virtually extinct: only Tissington carried on the practice. It was, however, revived as a celebration of the introduction of piped water. Now many villages have adapted the custom, often reviving it after a lapse of many decades. Naylor, with additional material from Porter, has brought together the history of well dressing both within and beyond Derbyshire. The volume includes a list of villages known to have dressed wells and a detailed account of the well dressing process. In addition to some old drawings of dressed wells and some early black and white photographs, there are colour photographs of dressed wells and of ancient and more modern techniques of well dressing.