Eyam
Eyam in the Derbyshire Peak District is the village that sealed itself off during the bubonic plague outbreak of 1665 to prevent the disease spreading to the surrounding communities, a remarkable act of collective self-sacrifice that has made the village one of the most celebrated examples of communal heroism in English history and one of the most visited heritage destinations in the Peak District. The plague was brought to Eyam in a consignment of cloth from London and under the leadership of the rector William Mompesson and the nonconformist minister Thomas Stanley the village agreed to quarantine themselves rather than flee and risk carrying the disease to neighbouring settlements.
The plague killed approximately 260 of the village's 800 inhabitants between 1665 and 1666, the plague graves scattered across the surrounding fields and gardens rather than concentrated in the churchyard providing the most tangible evidence of the scale of the mortality. The Plague Cottages where the outbreak began and the Boundary Stone where money was left in vinegar-filled holes to pay for supplies brought by outsiders are among the most visited sites in the village.
The Eyam Museum provides an excellent account of the plague year and the village's response to it, and the annual Plague Commemoration service held in August at the outdoor Cucklett Delph church, where services were held in the open air during the plague to reduce infection risk, provides a living connection to the events of 1665.