In the plague outbreak of 1665, plague was rife in the south of England, but the north largely escaped. However, a tailor in Eyam in Derbyshire called George Vicars ordered a roll of cloth from London and hung it up to air when it arrived.
It was full of fleas carrying the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis. The fleas bit George, who died within days from the plague fever. The villagers met and decided to close their village off and stay within its boundaries to prevent the plague spreading further. Over the next 14 months, 250 of them died.
Food was left for them at the village boundary and everyone in the village kept to the agreement, despite terrible personal tragedy. One farmer's wife lost her husband and all of her six children in one week, and then had to bury them herself to prevent other people getting the infection.
Many of the villagers houses still stand and the village carries many memorials of its brave former inhabitants.
It was full of fleas carrying the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis. The fleas bit George, who died within days from the plague fever. The villagers met and decided to close their village off and stay within its boundaries to prevent the plague spreading further. Over the next 14 months, 250 of them died.
Food was left for them at the village boundary and everyone in the village kept to the agreement, despite terrible personal tragedy. One farmer's wife lost her husband and all of her six children in one week, and then had to bury them herself to prevent other people getting the infection.
Many of the villagers houses still stand and the village carries many memorials of its brave former inhabitants.