The week after our Greater Manchester marathon Sarah and I have tried to take things easy. We have had a friend over from Germany. However with him visiting relatives and friends it left us with a free Saturday. We decided on a relaxing day and a visit to Eyam, and in particular National Trust‘s Eyam Hall.

Eyam Hall is a manor house in the Jacobean style. It was built in 1671 by the Wright family, wealthy landowners who had built their fortune in the area. It is still owned by descendents of the family today.

The house provided a fascinating look at how one family has evolved and adapted through almost 350 years of  history. Contemporary design sat alongside objects that had been with the family for hundreds of years.

Next we took a walk around the gardens.

 

Of course no visit to a National Trust property is complete without a visit to it’s tearoom! We decided to continue that tradition!

  

Eyam Hall was built just six years after the event that gave the village it’s notoriety, for Eyam is known as the ‘Plague Village’. In 1665-6 the villagers made the sacrifice of quarantining themselves off from the rest of the world in an effort to contain the disease and spreading further. We decided to explore for ourselves the effect that the bubonic plague outbreak had on this remarkable village.

Just past Eyam Hall are some cottages known as ‘Plague Cottages’ for here whole families were wiped out in just a few years.

Next to the cottages is Eyam Parish Church. It’s vicar in 1665, the Reverand William Mompesson is an historically important clergyman credited with being one of the leading persons behind the villages decision to quarantine itself.

We then decided to take a walk up to one of the villages boundary stones.

It was at the boundary stones that outside villages brought food and money (often wrapped in vinegar) to support the Eyam community during its isolation.

We returned and decided on a walk up to a place known as Mompesson’s Well. This is on the other side of the village and was another boundary point during the villages quarantine.

Finally we walked back down to the village. It had been a fascinating and moving day of history showing the extent which one small community went to in order to save the people it normally came in to contact with. It is a village well worth visiting.