Plague Cottage, a 17th-century house near the village green, recalls the dark past of this attractive moorland village.
Eyam - pronounced 'E'em' - stood remote and isolated in the 17th-century, 800 ft up among the Derbyshire peaks. Yet it could not escape the plague that was raging in London. In 1665 a box of clothing was sent to Eyam's tailor, George Vicars. The clothing was contaminated with the plague germs, and Vicars became infected and died.
The plague spread rapidly, and many of the frightened villagers prepared to leave. But their rector, William Mompesson, persuaded them to stay, and so stopped the disease spreading to other districts. The courage and self-sacrifice of Mompesson and his parishioners was paid for dearly - out of an estimated population of 350 some 250 died, including Mompesson's wife.
Plague Cottage was the home of George Vicars and behind it is the Church of St. Lawrence. In the Church is a carved oak chair which belonged to Mompesson, and in the north aisle is the chest which contained the infected clothing sent from London.
Dotted around the village are the graves of whole families wiped out by the plague. Some have been turfed over, but Riley Graves to the west of the village can still be seen. In a limestone valley called The Delph is Cucklet Church, a natural cavern where Mompesson held his services after the village church had been closed to prevent the disease spreading. About three-quarters of a mile east of Eyam is Mompesson's Well, where supplies were left by neighbouring villagers; the money in payment was washed in vinegar and water which, it was believed would destroy the infection.
But Eyam is not obsessed with it's unhappy past, and has grown to be one ot the largest and most pleasant of the Peak District villages. The Derbyshire custom of well-dressing is observed on the last Saturday in August, and there is a sheep-roast on the green on the first Saturday in September.