The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
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Litton Wakes Week
The Litton Majorettes lead the way as one Derbyshire village celebrates its annual Wakes Week.
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Overview
The Wakes Week tradition is usually associated with the north-west of England where factories closed for a week to allow workers to holiday together at the seaside. The village of Litton in Derbyshire is some distance from that 'northern powerhouse'. Here Wakes Week is more a mix of tradition and tourism or, as reporter Peter Green describes it, "bucolic pleasure": with its well dressing and parades led by the Litton Majorettes and the crowning of the village Rose Queen.
The tradition of well dressing is often linked with a celebration of clean water following outbreaks of plague, although in most villages it is a nineteenth century revival that is practised. Litton and its larger neighbour Tideswell remain keen practitioners of the tradition.
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