The Flickr Eyam Image Generatr

The beautiful, historic village of Eyam (pronounced 'eem'), in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England which became famous after the Black Death of 1665 and 1666.
An outbreak of the plague was contained when the villagers decided to isolate themselves from the surrounding communities. Many people in the village died. It is also known that some of the village population were genetically unique and naturally immune to this very deadly disease. There are still descendants of this line in Eyam.

The beautiful, historic village of Eyam (pronounced 'eem'), in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England which became famous after the Black Death of 1665 and 1666.
An outbreak of the plague was contained when the villagers decided to isolate themselves from the surrounding communities. Many people in the village died. It is also known that some of the village population were genetically unique and naturally immune to this very deadly disease. There are still descendants of this line in Eyam.

The beautiful, historic village of Eyam (pronounced 'eem'), in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England which became famous after the Black Death of 1665 and 1666.
An outbreak of the plague was contained when the villagers decided to isolate themselves from the surrounding communities. Many people in the village died. It is also known that some of the village population were genetically unique and naturally immune to this very deadly disease. There are still descendants of this line in Eyam.

peak district national park plague history

peak district national park

Cucklet Church, a somewhat hidden limestone crag with caverns and arches in Eyam Delph (or Delf), a limestone gorge below the village of Eyam. When the plague came to Eyam in 1665 the parish church was locked, prompting the vicar William Mompesson to preach to his congregation gathered in the delph using the cavern as a pulpit.

Cucklet Church, a somewhat hidden limestone crag with caverns and arches in Eyam Delph (or Delf), a limestone gorge below the village of Eyam. When the plague came to Eyam in 1665 the parish church was locked, prompting the vicar William Mompesson to preach to his congregation gathered in the delph using the cavern as a pulpit.

Cucklet Church, a somewhat hidden limestone crag with caverns and arches in Eyam Delph (or Delf), a limestone gorge below the village of Eyam. When the plague came to Eyam in 1665 the parish church was locked, prompting the vicar William Mompesson to preach to his congregation gathered in the delph using the cavern as a pulpit.

Cucklet Church, a somewhat hidden limestone crag with caverns and arches in Eyam Delph (or Delf), a limestone gorge below the village of Eyam. When the plague came to Eyam in 1665 the parish church was locked, prompting the vicar William Mompesson to preach to his congregation gathered in the delph using the cavern as a pulpit.

Another interesting photograph. In 1666 during an outbreak of plague in Eyam, Derbyshire, Elizabeth Hancock buried her husband and six of her children in this field. The villagers of Eyam famously quarantined themselves from the outside world and stopped the plague reaching nearby big cities. Elizabeth survived and moved to Sheffield after the plague with her one surviving son. Not only this family grave but you can still see others who could not get to the local church to bury their families. Some of the houses that still stand have plaques showing who lived in the house in 1666 and if they survived or died. There are still boundary stones where villagers left money for people to leave food, they have indents carved in them for the money to be left soaked in vinegar, to kill the germs.
Well worth a visit.

The village’s claim to fame is how, in 1665, villagers chose to go into isolation when the Great Plague (bubonic plague) was discovered in the village.

By the end of the period of self-imposed isolation, 260 out of a village population of 350 had died from the plague.

It is thought that their sacrifice saved northern England’s cities from the worst of the plague.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyam


St Lawrence
Church of England

Grade II* Listed

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Lawrence%27s_Church,_Eyam

Some of the well maintaned drystone walls between Eyam and Foolow.

1775 Wall Sundial

The Church of St. Lawrence, Eyam

Catherine Mompesson, wife of William Mompesson, she was aged 27 when she died, Catherine is remembered in Eyam for her selflessness during the 1665-1666 plague. Despite her frail health, she stayed to support the sick and assist her husband. After her death on August 25, 1666, she was buried in the churchyard, an honor reflecting her unique role. Her legacy is preserved through her tomb, annual memorial services like Plague Sunday, and commemorative plaques in the village, symbolizing her courage and sacrifice.

260 Eyam villagers died over the 14 months of the plague out of a total population of 800. 76 families were affected by the plague; many such as the Thorpe family were wiped out completely. However the impact on medical understanding was significant.

Alan, from Kent decided to take the bus back from Eyam after arriving in my Fiat Seicento. 😃
Eyam known as the plague village after the events of 1666.

Camp snap camera.

Alan, from Kent decided to take the bus back from Eyam after arriving in my Fiat Seicento.
Eyam known as the plague village after the events of 1666.

Camp snap camera.

Update On The Hole in the Ground - What Hole in the Ground ? Shh but that's where the man in the bowler hat is buried.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yShvgXZQBTs

Built fir the Wright family in 1672, six years after the plague outbreak, when the villagers, led by their Rector, William Mompesson, chose to isolate themselves to prevent the spread of the disease, a decision that saved surrounding areas but resulted in many deaths within the village. The villagers received food and supplies from neighbouring areas, leaving coins in bowls disinfected with vinegar as payment. The plague lasted for 14 months, with 430 survivors from a population of around 800.

The Wright family.