Eyam

Eyam, pronounced ‘Eem’, cannot escape its infamous label as ‘the Plague Village’. In 1665, a local tailor, George Vicars, received a bundle of plague-infected clothing from London. Within a short time the infection had spread and the terrified inhabitants prepared to flee the village. However, the local rector, William Mompesson, and his predecessor Thomas Stanley persuaded the villagers to stay put and, thanks to his intervention, most neighbouring villages escaped the disease. Eyam was quarantined for over a year, relying on outside help for supplies of food which were left on the village boundary (see Stoney Middleton).

Out of a total of 350 inhabitants, only 83 survived. Whole families were wiped out, and there were no formal funerals. People were buried close to where they died without ceremony. At Riley Farm, the farmer’s wife buried her husband and six children within eight days. The Riley Graves, as they are called nowadays, are still there.

An open-air service is held each August at Cucklet Delf to commemorate the villagers’ brave self-sacrifice, and the well-dressings are also a thanksgiving for the pureness of the water. Taking place on the last Sunday in August, known as Plague Sunday, this also commemorates the climax of the plague and the death of the rector’s wife, Catherine Mompesson.

The village itself is quite large and self-contained, and typical of a mining and quarrying settlement. For all its plague associations, it is said that it was the first village in England to have a public water system. In the 16th century a series of troughs were placed throughout the village, with water being brought to them by pipes. An interesting place to stroll around, there are many information plaques documenting events where they took place. Eyam Museum tells the story of the heroic sacrifice and the Parish Church of St Lawrence, which dates partly from the 12th century and was restored in the 19th century, houses an excellent exhibition of Eyam’s history, including Mompesson’s own chair and the plague register. Also inside the church are two ancient coffin lids; the top of one of the lids is known as St Helen’s Cross. Born in what is now Turkey, St Helen is said to have found a fragment of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. In the churchyard is the best-preserved Saxon cross to be found in the Peak District, along with an unusual sundial which dates from 1775. There is also a memorial to Catherine Mompesson and Thomas Stanley.

The home of the Wright family for over 300 years, Eyam Hall is a wonderful, unspoilt 17th-century manor house that is open to the public. As well as touring the house and seeing the impressive stone-flagged hall, the tapestry room and the magnificent tester bed, there is also a café and gift shop. The Eyam Hall Crafts Centre, housed in the farm building, contains several individual units which specialise in a variety of unusual and skilfully-fashioned crafts.

A mile or two north of the village is Eyam Moor, where there are cairns and stone circles.