Inside Eyam, a 17th-century English village that became one of the most remarkable cases of self-quarantine in history

Plague Window Eyam Village
A stained-glass window in Eyam Church depicting the plague outbreak. George Dawn
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In 1666, William Mompesson, the rector of Eyam village, gathered its 750 residents to lay out a plan for containing an outbreak of the bubonic plague. They arrived at the decision to voluntarily quarantine, with no one leaving or entering until plague cases ceased.

Eyam Plague Village
One of the plague cottages in Eyam. Alastair Wallace/Shutterstock

Source: BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post

Within 14 months, over a third of Eyam's population succumbed to the horror of the plague that had been inadvertently brought to the village from London.

Eyam Plague Village
A church at Eyam. Dale Lorna Jacobsen/Shutterstock

Source: BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

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From 1665 to 1666, the last major outbreak of the bubonic plague ravaged London, killing about 25% of the city's population. Earlier outbreaks of plague, also known as Black Death, were responsible for killing an estimated 25 million people in Europe in the 14th century.

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The plague of 1348 in Florence, an engraving based on a painting by Luigi Sabatelli (1772-1850) from L'Illustrazione Italiana, No 48, December 2, 1877. Getty Images

Source: CDC, BBC, Encyclopedia Britannica, National Geographic

Though the 1665 epidemic was mainly confined to London and Cambridge, an outbreak occurred in Eyam, which was more than 150 miles away.

Eyam and London Map
Map of Eyam and London. Google Images

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica, Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

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It was later discovered that Eyam's tailor had ordered a bale of cloth from London, which happened to be carrying plague-ridden fleas. The bacteria that cause plague exist in a long-term cycle between certain rodent species and fleas but can be transmitted to humans in numerous ways, most commonly through flea bites.

London plague epidemic 1665
A depiction of a street in London during the Great Plague Epidemic of 1665-1666. The Print Collector/Getty Images

Source: CDC, BBC, World Health Organization

George Viccars, the tailor's assistant, was the first person in Eyam to be exposed and killed by this resurgence of plague. He died on September 7, 1665.

Eyam Village
A 19th-century engraving of a cross at Eyam. Universal History Archive/Getty Images

Source: BBC

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Over the next two months, about 40 more people died, but infections significantly dropped off by May of 1666, and most residents presumed the epidemic to be over.

Eyam Village Plague
One of the plague cottages in Eyam, Derbyshire, UK. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: BBC, The Washington Post, Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

The plague mutated, however, and became pneumonic by the summer of 1666. This meant that instead of fleas having to bite humans to transmit the disease, humans could now transmit it to one another directly.

bubonic plague black death
"The Dance of Death" by Michael Wolgemut, 1493. Wikimedia Commons

Source: Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian), The Washington Post

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The mutated form of plague caused a tremendous surge in deaths, and many of Eyam's residents considered fleeing.

Eyam Plague Village
Home of the first plague victim in Eyam. Alina Hartounian/AP Photo

Source: Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian), BBC

The newly appointed rector Mompesson realized that Eyam's fleeing villagers could create outbreaks in neighboring cities of Sheffield and Manchester.

Mompesson Eyam Village
Scan of a painted portrait of William Mompesson, made for Eyam Church. George Dawn

Source: The Washington Post, BBC

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Mompesson thought the rightful course of action was to self-quarantine the town. He believed that they could prevent further transmission to surrounding areas by restricting anyone from entering or leaving Eyam.

Eyam Plague Village
Interior of the church at Eyam. Marmalade Photos/Shutterstock

Source: BBC, Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

Mompesson, who wasn't entirely trusted by the locals yet, reached out to the former rector, Thomas Stanley, to help him persuade the villagers not to flee. Together, on June 24, 1666, the two convinced the people of Eyam to voluntarily quarantine themselves, facing a greater chance of death but ensuring their neighbors' protection.

Eyam Plague Village
Gravestone in Eyam. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: BBC, The Washington Post, Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

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Francine Clifford, a local historian in Eyam, believes that Mompesson and Stanley appear to have been appealing to the community's religious values, convincing them that, according to Christian teachings, the town had a moral duty to do something good for humankind.

Eyam Plague Village
Parish Church at Eyam. Alastair Wallace/Shutterstock

Source: Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

The village placed rocks in a 1-mile circle around Eyam to create their isolation zone. Over the next few months, no one entered or left the town.

Eyam Plague Village
A cross in the Eyam graveyard. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: BBC, The Washington Post

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Nearby villages would leave food and supplies by the cordon rocks in return for coins that were soaked in vinegar, a practice the townspeople believed would prevent the plague from spreading.

Eyam Village Stone Cordon Vinegar Holes
A cordon stone in Eyam. Alina Hartounian/AP Images

Source: BBC, The History and Antiquities of Eyam, The Washington Post

In 1665, Eyam had between 750 and 800 residents. By the time the plague had taken its toll, 260 of them had died, representing over a third of the total population.

Eyam Plague Village
Gravestone in the cemetery at Eyam. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: The Royal Society, BBC, Eyam Plague Village, Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

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William Mompesson kept careful parish registers and accounts of every plague victim during this period. The records show entire families dying rapidly, in one case within a week. During August 1666, at its peak, five to six people were dying a day in Eyam.

Eyam Village Plague
The home of the Rose family, who all died during the plague epidemic. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: BBC, The Guardian, Eyam Plague Village, Atlas Obscura

In a letter dated November 20, 1666, Mompesson wrote about what life in the village had been like, commenting "my ears never heard such doleful lamentations — my nose never smelled such horrid smells, and my eyes never beheld such ghastly spectacles."

Eyam Plague Village
The grave of Catherine Mompesson, the wife of William Mompesson, who became infected with plague after helping other sick villagers. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: The History and Antiquities of Eyam

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Infections tapered out, however, just over a year after the plague first infected Eyam. Mompesson wrote that the last infection to occur was on October 17, 1666.

Eyam Plague Village
The home of the plague's third victim in Eyam. Geography Photos/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian), BBC

Clifford attributes a combination of colder weather and the plague's natural life cycle as reasons for it dying out. She notes that outbreaks of plague in England almost always lasted about a year.

Plague
Depiction of the plague in Italy in the 17th century, seen in the Museo Storico Nazionale Dell'Arte Sanitaria. De Agostini/Getty Images

Source: Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

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Fortunately, the self-imposed quarantine was successful in preventing further transmission. Clifford said that if it had reached Manchester or Sheffield, it most likely would have become a severe epidemic with thousands of fatalities.

Eyam Plague Village
Plague cottages in Eyam. The Print Collector/Getty Images

Source: The Royal Society, BBCFrancine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

Tens of thousands of tourists visit Eyam each year to admire its villagers' sacrifice and to learn about an era ravaged by plague epidemics.

Eyam Plague Village
A street in Eyam. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Source: Patrick Wallis (History Workshop Journal)

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Clifford says communal ideas of self-sacrifice still resonate centuries later in Eyam, now with a population of about 1,000. She said the town was a community-centered village full of caring people ready to help their neighbors.

Eyam Plague Village
Thousands gathered to honor Catherine Mompesson, the wife of William Mompesson, who was named the "Heroine of Eyam" for her commitment to caring for the sick. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Source: Francine Clifford (Eyam Historian)

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