Inspired by a local event.

It was the delicate costumes that caught my eye and then I realised that it was an 18th century illustration of a famous local annual event, enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. The ceremony is associated with the ancient custom of annually replacing the rushes on the earth floors of churches.
A more recent version of the event was painted in 1944 on the west wall of saint Mary’s church in Ambleside.
That is worth a blipfoto all of its own.