The Church of St Lawrence in Eyam, dating from about 1350.
The village of Eyam dates back to Saxon times, and was formerly a centre for lead mining.
It is most famous, though, for events during the Great Plague in 1666, when the villagers
broke off contact with the outside world to halt the spread of the disease, which took many
lives before it ended. The disease was brought to Eyam via some damp cloth that had been
ordered from London, where the Plague was rampant. The cloth was spread out to dry, releasing
plague-carrying fleas. Within a few days, a number of villagers died. The Church Rector asked
villages to quarantine themselves to limit the spread of the disease, with food and medical
supplies being left at various points on the village boundary. The Plague ended in October
1666, claiming 260 lives in the village, over a period of 14 months.