Water Supplies Our famous tradition of well dressing shows how precious water is to the Peak, especially in limestone areas. For hundreds of years people fetched their water from wells and springs. Many springs flowed into troughs but a typical scene of 100 years ago saw every trough in Wensley bone dry. Villagers had only the merest trickle of water from a supply on the hillside. A laurel leaf was placed on the end of the spout to make the water flow just a little, while children stood in lines with buckets to catch it a drop at a time. In those days, the drinking water of Fairfield was described as ‘infested with creeping things innumerable ...’ When people became ill in Longstone in 1820, it was blamed on dirty drinking water. When water was piped from local reservoirs, some people could turn on their taps and watch newts, fish or tadpoles plop out. Read More >> More Pictures Community Life