Going back to the 1660s, this was a most historic time in England. Oliver Cromwell had led a revolution in 1642 that caused a Civil War with the execution of King Charles I and the abolition of the monarchy, in 1649. The heir to the throne was Charles’s son who fled to France with his mother, his younger brother James and an entourage of supporters of the monarchy. With the death of Cromwell in 1658 the people of England had grown increasingly weary of the new regime and so the monarchy was restored in 1660. The new King Charles II was going to have his revenge on the men who signed the death warrant for the execution of his father. Oliver Cromwell who was the first to sign the warrant, had his body exhumed and charged with the murder of his father. A group of bounty hunters were appointed to track down the Regicides (the action of killing a King). Read the book, The Act of Oblivion, by Robert Harris, it’s a book dealing with the story of Regicides. 

In 1665 a Plague hit Europe and with the amount of merchant ships sailing into London, England, it very soon reached there. The bubonic Plague was caused by the black rat fleas that carried the bacteria. Hygiene was not a priority especially in large cities, fleas were very common back then. A bite from one of these led to serious infections that were fatal and contagious. This was the worst outbreak of plague since 1348. Deaths were poorly recorded but it is undeniably believed that over 100,000 people died in the city of London. King Charles II along with the Parliamentarians and upstanding people in the communities left London for their homes and villas in the countryside. 

Eyam, an insignificant village in the peak district of the Derbyshire Dales, had a bale of fabric delivered from London to Alexander Hatfield the local tailor. His assistant George Viccars noticed that the cloth was damp, drying it by the fireplace awakened the fleas that had nested there. Within a week Viccars was dead. William Hatfield and his whole family suffered the same fate. From the swelling on parts of the body, headaches and violent sickness that people suffered the two local vicars William Mompesson and Thomas Stanley recognized the problem. Addressing the villagers the two men implored the crowd to quarantine the area and allow nobody to leave or enter. A cordon of stones marked the boundary, signs were erected explaining why this was happening, for anyone who was able to read. Food such as grain and meat were left on the stones, in return money was placed in hollows in the stones steeped in vinegar to prevent contamination. When money ran out the local Earl of Devonshire provided foodstuffs. The church was closed to stop mourners from attending funerals. Burials took place near the houses where people would have lived and the families had to bury their own dead. The plague ran its course for 14 months, figures differ as to how many people died, the church records in Eyam show 273 individuals died, with about 80 survivors. The fate of some of these individuals differed, for example, Elizabeth Hancock remained uninflected despite burying six children and her husband. Marshal Howe, the gravedigger also survived, despite his contact with so many infected bodies. The epidemic ended in 1666. With the efforts made in Eyam doctors realized that the use of enforced quarantine could limit or prevent the spread of disease. To this day in England it is still used in particular for the spread of foot and mouth disease, and of course during the recent pandemic. Florence Nightingale, who we’ve all heard of, pioneered the use of isolation wards to limit the spread of infectious diseases during the Crimean War in the 1850s. The Ebola epidemic in Africa was handled by the quick disposal of bodies.

In the local church at Eyam Plague Sunday has been celebrated in the village since the plague’s bicentenary in 1866. Today there are many ‘plague stones’ to be found marking the boundaries that should not be crossed. Riley graves, where a large number of people were buried, are named after the family that had ownership of that farm back then. The National Trust takes care of the upkeep of this site. Walking around the village one can see houses dating back 400 years, the church was built in the 1200s and has been renovated a number of times. There’s a beautiful museum that has the history of the village, the people, and what these people did out of the goodness of their hearts. Most schools in Derbyshire have the history of Eyam on their curriculum and on days leading up to the examinations numerous students are taken there on buses by their schools.

There were many theories and beliefs as to why the plague happened. God’s will and his wrath to have people repent for their sins, crimes and actions. With 1666 coming up there was a belief that this would be the end of the world, the Satanic ‘numbers of the beast 666’ prophesied in the book of Revelation in the Bible. 

Or as W.B Yeats wrote in his poem The Second Coming, 

‘And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, 

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.’

To make matters worse, in 1666 the great fire of London broke out in a bakery store and burned for five days. The authorities had to commandeer a work force to pull down houses in its path, to prevent it spreading any further. The houses were built of timber with thatch roofs, so they burned like matchwood. This did have the desired effect although 100,000 people were left homeless. The fire did have some effect on the city, the congested streets were replaced with wider ones, sanitation improved and the boardwalks along the river Thames were replaced with that spacious tree lined Boulevard. After the Great Fire in London a law was passed in Parliament that all houses in the cities of England had to be built of stone.

The Peak District of Derbyshire is outstanding, the symbol of remoteness and yesteryear, yet the magnificent stone walls dividing the farmland, with hundreds of sheep and their lambs frolicking around in the springtime. The magical stone houses dating back 200 years, the main rock formations are Carboniferous coal, limestone, and sandstone, there is an abundance of quarries in the area. Visiting the local towns with stores, bars, cafes, banks, post offices and what that town feeling used to be, the sidewalks alive with adults and children, little or no illuminated signs or flashing lights.

Sheffield is the nearest city to Eyam, roughly about 20 minutes away, while Manchester is about one hour. For anyone visiting this area it has a beautiful story to share. Wonderfully safe, family friendly walks, hiking and exploring some of the old coal mines and defunct railway lines that have been developed into fantastic walkways. Planning a trip, there are local airports, train stations, public buses and car hire.