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The Plague Village of Eyam
Gary Thomson on an Enduring Story of Sacrifice to Save Others
In these times of quarantine and "social distancing," a timeless story from a Derbyshire village in England reminds us of the abiding power of faith and self-sacrifice.
The village, Eyam, twelve miles west of Sheffield, is one of a cluster of Saxon-Age settlements lying in the Hope Valley along a wooded meander of the River Derwent. This is the epicenter of Peak National Park, a region of extraordinary beauty. Walkers, painters, artists, and amateur historians all come to explore the open moors, sheltered dales, and villages that bring a nostalgic peace away from workaday routine.
But the village of Eyam—secluded, proud, secure—draws strangers slowly along its cobbled streets, Cussy Lane, the Lydgate, and Church Street, allowing them to peel back layers of a plague drama from 350 years ago.
The Plague Confronted
The chronicle begins with an itinerant tailor, staying the summer of 1665 in the stone cottage of Mary Cooper in the village. In late August a parcel of cloth arrived for him from London. Feeling its dampness, the tailor, George Viccars, spread it before the fire to dry.
Two days later he was racked with a fever. Swellings and a rosy rash covered his body. On the evening of the second day he died in agony. Rat fleas concealed in the cloth had infected him with the plague bacillus.
Within a fortnight Mary Cooper's son died with the same symptoms. The next day Peter Hawksworth and Thomas Thorpe, neighbors on either side, perished with the fever. Two days later, young Sarah Sydall across the road died.
Through Eyam's streets slouched the specter of bubonic plague.
As the deaths mounted through the autumn and winter of 1665, the inhabitants sought religious explanations for the tragedy. Some said that Gabriel Hounds, the spirits of unbaptized children, had hovered over the open moors; others claimed that cows had entered the church and fouled the nave, thus incurring God's wrath.
By the following spring a cold hysteria stalked the villagers. A plaque on Mrs. Sydall's house records the names of her seven dead children. Another plaque recalls the names of seven Thorpe victims. In a population of 400, no one was untouched by the calamity.
Gary Thomson is a retired teacher residing in Ontario, Canada. During his teaching career he wrote inspirational and history-themed articles for readers of diverse faiths. These have appeared in Mature Years, Anglican Review, Military Chaplain, and Doctors' Review, among others. He was raised and nurtured in the Anglican faith.
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