Eyam Church St Lawrence

Parish Church of St Lawrence, Eyam, Hope Valley, Derbyshire

St Lawrence is the parish church of the Derbyshire village of Eyam. Its founding dates from Saxon times.

The Eyam Parish Church of St. Lawrence is connected with the events of the plague that hit the village in the mid-17th century when the parishioners cut themselves off from the outside world to prevent the spread of the disease.

Parish Church of St Lawrence, Eyam

Architecture & History

St Lawrence Parish Church in Eyam is a mix of original features of Saxon and Norman times as well as later restorations which were undertaken in the 17th century. The tower was constructed in the 17th century, and later in the Victorian era, further work on the church was done.

The church contains the original parish register from the plague times, noting the deaths at the time in the village when 276 people out of the total of 350 inhabitants of Eyam perished from the infectious disease.

Parish Church of St Lawrence, Derbyshire

Parish Church of St Lawrence, Eyam

Celtic Cross

The graveyard of the church contains an eighth-century Celtic Cross, decorated with a mix of pagan and Christian iconography. The Eyam cross may originally have served as a preaching cross.

Other features of note at St Lawrence’s are the table tomb of Catherine Mompesson, the rector’s wife at the time of the plague, and an 18th-century sundial on the south wall of the church.

The stained glass windows show the story of the plague and the sacrifice of the villagers.

The graveyard of the church

Stocks

Close to the church and Eyam Hall are a set of wooden stocks. The row of houses just before the church has information panels about the plague in the village.

Rose Cottage – Nine members of the Thorpe family lived here. They all died.

Plague Cottage, Eyam; George Viccars, the first plaque victim, died on September 7th, 1665

The Hawksworth Family, Eyam, Derbyshire.

The Hawksworth Family – Peter, the 3rd victim, died on 23rd September 1665

Plague Village of the Black Death

Eyam is well-known as the Plague Village of the Black Death of 1665 when the villagers isolated themselves from the wider community to avoid further contagion of the deadly disease. They stayed in isolation for 14 months preventing the spread to larger towns such as Sheffield.

Eyam Museum

For more information on the events of the plague and Eyam’s history in general head to the Eyam Museum. It is on Hawkhill Road and is open Tuesday to Sunday. The museum opened in 1994 and local volunteers are on hand. Admission: Adults £4.00.