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George Viccars opened the delivery within
moments of its arrival from London in 1665. The
package contained a bale of cloth for the local
tailor, Alexander Hadfield. For the Derbyshire village
of Eyam, this event was nothing out of the ordinary.
Viccars opened the parcel and went to work
hanging the damp cloth by the fire. Little did he
realise at that moment that there was something
extra hidden and incubating within that particular
cloth. The heat of the fire had awoken plaguecarrying
fleas that laid dormant. Now they were
beginning to warm from their slumber with a new
area to infect.
William Mompesson's wife, Catherine, recorded in
her diary: "It might be difficult to predict the
outcome because of the resentment as to William's
role in the parish, but considering that the Revd
Stanley was now stood at his side, perhaps he
would gain the support necessary to carry the day."
The villagers reluctantly agreed to remain. They
knew that for many within the village it was
effectively a death sentence
Days later, Viccars became the first victim of the
plague. His two stepsons, Edward and Johnathan
Cooper soon followed as the endemic began to
take hold of the village. Soon, the whole village
would make a dramatic decision that that would
cost the lives of many in Eyam.
The devastating effects of the plague would soon
be felt across the village of Eyam. In this small area
of Derbyshire, grief would turn into panic. Between
September to December, 42 villagers had died.
Many families were on the verge of fleeing the
village in order to rebuild their lives in nearby
towns. If they did, there was a great likelihood that
they could unwittingly spread the disease to those
areas.
William Mompesson had only been in the village for
a couple of years. As the new village rector, he was
far from popular among his parishioners. There was
tension in the air from the moment he had arrived.
The previous rector, Thomas Stanley, was ousted
after he refused to acknowledge the 1662 Act of
Uniformity, which made it compulsory to use the
Book of Common Prayer, introduced by Charles II,
in religious services.
With Stanley living in exile just outside the village,
Mompesson knew that if he could get the former
rector to support his plan then the rest of the
village would follow. The plan was simple. In order
to prevent the plague from spreading to the nearby
towns, the village and those who resided within
should be quarantined.
Persuading the villagers would be difficult. On the
24th June 1666, he told the parishioners that no one
would be allowed to leave or enter Eyam. The Earl
of Derbyshire had offered to send food and supplies
if the villagers agreed to stay. Mompesson told his
congregation that he would also stay and would do
everything in his power to alleviate their suffering
The village was
now in lockdown.
No one was to
leave.