The Plague in Eyam
In the summer of 1665, Eyam was a prosperous village, six miles north of the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire. It was home to some 344 people, who made a living through farming and lead mining, which formed the settlement’s main source of wealth. There was nothing to mark Eyam out from any of the villages in the area. Then in August 1665, this all changed. For despite the dangers, the local tailor, Alexander Hadfield foolishly sent his assistant, George Vickers to London for cloth samples. When Vickers returned, he brought back more than material.
The box containing the cloth that Vickers brought back from London also harbored plague-bearing fleas. Their first victim on September 3, 1665, was Vickers himself, followed by the rest of his household. In the first three weeks of the plague’s residency in Eyam, it took the lives of six of its residents. By the end of the year, 42 villagers were dead. Then, inexplicably, it seemed to peter out. The people of Eyam questioned whether they had been struck down with plague at all. However, once winter had passed, in early 1666, the disease revived itself. In May, two people died. By the time June began, Eyam was in the jaws of a full-scale epidemic.
The villagers took every precaution to keep the plague at bay. They burned rosemary and wore masks stuffed with herbs. Doors and windows were kept closed so the plague spores could not enter and fires were lit in the village streets to drive them away. When they realized that smoke and herbs would do little good, some people even took to sitting in the sewers, in the hope that the foul odors would succeed where sweet had not and drive off the disease. However, it was all in vain.
As the plague took hold and the death toll began to rise, all those who could depart the village. The local vicar, William Mompesson sent his children away to stay in Sheffield although his wife, Elizabeth elected to stay with him and lost her life for her pains. However, it was not just the gentry that abandoned Eyam. One family of tradesmen, the Sheldon’s also left the village.
However, most people were not willing to risk their livelihoods and so took the chance to stay. As the suffering in the village grew, some people began to consider what would happen if the plague moved on from Eyam. This concern led the people of Eyam to take a brave and unprecedented step for such a small settlement.