St Lawrence’s parish Church Eyam Derbyshire England UK
William Mompesson (1639–1709) was a historically important clergyman, whose decisive action when his Derbyshire parish, Eyam, became infected with the plague in the 17th century averted more widespread catastrophe. In 1665 plague hit England, and a consignment of cloth bound for his village brought with it the infectious fleas which spread the disease. After an initial flurry of deaths in the autumn of that year it died down during the winter only to come back even more virulently in the spring of 1666. Mompesson, in conjunction with another clergyman, the out-of-favour Puritan, Thomas Stanley, took the courageous decision to isolate the village. In all, 260 of the village's inhabitants, including his wife Catherine, died before the plague claimed its last victim in December 1666
Size: 5029px × 3353px
Location: Eyam, Derbyshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © John Keates / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 17th, black, bubonic, building, century, church, death, derbyshire, england, eyam, grade, gravestones, ii*, lawrence’, listed, parish, place, plague, religion, religious, st, tower, tree, uk, village, worship, yew
