Eyam the Plague Village in Derbyshire and 'well dressing'

A few more photos, this time of Eyam a village in Debyshire, which is nestled in and surrounded by the amazing moorlands of the Peak District National Park.
Eyam was struck by the plague in 1665 and persuaded by their church leader William Mompesson, the villagers holed up and kept themselves segregated from surrounding villagers, to prevent the plague from spreading beyond the villages boundaries.
Remarkable selflessness and very few people survived.

 

 

 

 

Surviving cottages, now lived in by others but with memorial signs placed to record who had lived there in the time of the plague.

 

other Eyam folk of interest ( embiggen the picky )

and nice to see a Braille translation too

 

The Parish Church of St Lawrence in Eyam with exposed murals

 

this one modern stained glass window is dedication to Willaim Mompesson and the villagers story, its colours and design are beautiful

 

Mid August sees many villages in the Derbyshire and Staffordshire Peak District area 'well dressing', a practise that harks back to pagan times, when folk gave thanks to their gods, for having pure water from their wells and in their troughs, after the terrors of the plague.

It was once known as 'well flowering' and flower petals would have been used in ornate designs

Again, take a read of the Wiki page for a resume of the activity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well_dressing

 

Villagers were preparing for their own village well dressing and outlines are evidently set in clay bases, with black peppers and all manner of seeds used. See below ~

 

 

 

 

oh and I spotted a potential des res on the main street,

am only surprised it isn't on the market lol