Secret Eyam: Plague Village

Eyam, a secluded Peak District village, is known for its tragic history as a plague village that self-isolated in 1665 to contain the disease. The story has inspired Simon Armitage's poem 'Lockdown' and Secret Eyam: Plague Village provides a closer examination of its important history.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2023
Publisher: Amberley Publishing

Eyam, also known as Eaham, is a secluded Peak District village that bears the Saxon name, meaning a well-watered hamlet. Despite its proximity to the busy A623 road, which passes within a quarter-mile, this remote rural community attracts thousands of visitors each year, tragically known as the plague village that self-isolated. In 1665, outbreaks of bubonic plague swept across London and numerous other cities, towns, and villages throughout England. The incomprehensible terror of the plague, caused by the bite of a rat flea infected by the bacterium Pasteurella pestis, reached Eyam in September of that year. In response to contain the disease, the villagers made a selfless decision to lock themselves in isolation. This act of altruism was carried out by grief-stricken individuals in a village where every home became a morgue and every resident a mourner.

Over three and a half centuries later, as we face a pandemic of colossal proportions with the COVID-19 crisis, the story of Eyam has inspired Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate, to dedicate half of his poem 'Lockdown' to the suffering of these people. Secret Eyam: Plague Village, illustrated throughout, delves deeper into this area's rich history, providing a closer examination of its significant events.

Weight: 280g
Dimension: 233 x 167 x 12 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781398109209