History

Eyam - The Derbyshire Plague Village

In August 1665 the village tailor George Vicars received a parcel of cloth from London, where bubonic plague was rife.  As the material was damp he dried it by the fire, and released the deadly plague infested fleas, that themselves had been infected by rats.  Within days he died, and the disease began rapidly spreading through the small village.

This is where the plague started.  Some occupants in all these cottages died.

The young minister at the village church was the Rev. William Mompesson who urged that the village become totally isolated to stop the disease spreading throughout Derbyshire.  He arranged that food and other necessities should be left at isolated spots outside the little village, with coins left in payment in nearby running water.

The effect of the plague on the village was devastating.  Out of approximately 350 residents, only 83 were still alive by the Autumn of 1666.  One of the most poignant reminders of this terrible time is the grave site where Mrs Elizabeth Hancock buried her husband and six children.  They were all victims of the plague, between the 3rd and 10th of August 1666.  The Hancock's farmed this field, known as 'Riley's Field' and the poor woman dragged the bodies of her family up a steep and quite long lane to get to the burial site.

Rev Mompesson had closed the church during the 14 month period of the plague, holding services in the open air to try and stop the spread of infection.  Constantly he visited the sick and dying, and then towards the very end of the outbreak, his beloved wife Catherine died in his arms.  She is the only victim to be buried in the church.

By the 1st November 1666 the plague had run its course.  The selflessness of the isolated villagers has stopped the plague spreading.  Now over 300 years later a Remembrance Service is still held every Plague Sunday (the last Sunday in August).  Then Catherine Mompesson's tomb is decorated with a rose entwined wreath.

For more pictures from Eyam click here

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