Nearby places
EYAM, Derbyshire
"EYAM is a township, in the parish of its name, in the same
hundred as Stoney Middleton, about one mile N.N.W. from that
town, fire E. by N. from Tideswell, and twelve W. by N.
from Chesterfield. The neighbourhood of this village
derived, at one period, a considerable degree of prosperity
from the lead mines at Foolow, a small village one mile west
of this place; but for some years past these works have
declined, and with them the population of the neighbourhood."
[There is further information for Eyam]
[Description from
Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]
- The Cressbrook Multimedia
site has a page devoted to the
Eyam Museum. The museum also has its own website
www.eyammuseum.demon.co.uk.
Truly, "The Plague Experience" - in common with many folk museums
these days, exhibits include lifelike figures, and there are photographs of some
of these online, including "The last days of John Daniel" - John
Daniel in bed, dying of the Plague.
- Wood, William - The History & Antiquities of Eyam.
Country Books, 2006. ISBN 1-901214-34-6. Added 11 Sep 2006.
- William Wood's
Tales and Traditions of the Peak has been
transcribed jointly by Rosemary Lockie and Andrew McCann.
See below, under the Biography for further
notes on William himself.
- Portions of The Rev. J. M. J. Fletcher's
The Plague Stricken Derbyshire Village or What To See In and
Around Eyam, printed circa 1915, have been transcribed by
Andrew McCann, from an old family book in his collection. The Rev.
Fletcher was Canon of Salisbury, and formerly a Vicar of Tideswell.
- Portions of William Wood's
The History and Antiquities of Eyam have been
transcribed by Andrew McCann, from a copy of the book which has been in
his family for over 100 years. William was married to Sarah PURSGLOVE,
Andrew's great-great-grandmother Jane Pursglove's sister. See below, under
the Biography for further notes on William himself.
- Clarence Daniel, The Story of Eyam Plague with a Guide to the Village,
1977, 1983 & 1985. Published by the author (now sadly deceased) at
'Le Roc', Eyam, Sheffield; still available locally in Eyam.
- John Clifford, Eyam Plague, 1665-1666, first
published 1989. Revised 1993 and 1995. Printed by The Print Centre,
Sheffield. Available for sale at Eyam Post Office.
Here is a collection of notes on a few of the famous sons of Eyam.
- "Harry the Umpire"
a biography of Harry Bagshaw the Cricketer (1859-1927), contributed by Alan Jacques.
Added 15 Feb 2004.
- Some brief notes on William Mompesson
(1639-1709), by Rosemary Lockie. Added 8 Mar 2007.
- Some would argue that William Wood of Eyam
(1804-1865) was the definitive Eyam Historian! Most
authors writing about Eyam, even if they find they do not wholly agree with his
conclusions, will cite his books amongst their sources. A flowery
Victorian romantic perhaps, but that was the style of his day; and he was
much closer to sources of our study than we are now. Indeed, if it weren't
for him, the personal tragedies of those who died, and triumphs of those
who recovered during the Plague would have remained unrecorded.
- William the historian is not to be confused with another
William Wood of Eyam (1791-1823),
who one might say achieved notoriety of a different kind - he was murdered!
- Adam HOLMES (1793-1878) was a veteran of the Peninsual War, and
the Battle of Waterloo (where he lost his left leg); and a Chelsea Pensioner.
He was born at Wormhill, near Buxton, and married Mary FURNESS, sister
to the poet, Richard (below). Adam is also noted in Wood's History and
Antiquities of Eyam, as living in the cottage where the Plague was said
to have started.
-
Richard FURNESS (1791-1857), poet, and eldest brother of Mary FURNESS (above) is
remembered in Eyam Churchyard on a large cube-shaped gravestone, surmounted
by an urn.
For further details see G Calvert Holland's biographical introduction to
The Poetical Works of Richard Furness,
contributed by Paul Bradford.
- Transcription of the Census for Eyam of
1841
by Rosemary Lockie.
- Transcription of the Census for Eyam, West of the Church of
1851;
and Eyam, East of the Church of
1851
by Rosemary Lockie.
NB these 2 parts comprise the whole of the Eyam Census in 1851.
- Transcription of the Census for Eyam, West of the Church of
1861 with
Summary;
and Eyam, East of the Church of
1861 with
Summary,
by Rosemary Lockie,
from photocopies very kindly supplied by my cousin Glenn Trezza.
- Transcription of the Census for Eyam, West of the Church of
1871
by Rosemary Lockie,
from photocopies very kindly supplied by my cousin Glenn Trezza;
and Eyam, East of the Church of
1871
very kindly provided by Janet (also my cousin) and Peter Kirk.
NB these 2 parts comprise the whole of the Eyam Census in 1871.
- Transcription of the Census for Eyam, West of the Church of
1881;
and Eyam, East of the Church of
1881
converted from LDS data by Rosemary Lockie,
and included here to augment the collection of parishes of special interest.
- Transcription of the Census for Eyam, East of the Church of
1891 with
Summary;
and Eyam, West of the Church of
1891 with
Summary,
by Rosemary Lockie,
from microfiche as part of the
FreeCEN project.
NB these 2 parts comprise the whole of the Eyam Census in 1891.
- Transcription of the Census for Eyam, East of the Church of
1901 with
Summary;
and Eyam, West of the Church of
1901 with
Summary,
by Rosemary Lockie. Added 5 Jun 2006/17 Dec 2007.
NOTE: 'East of the Church' is the one which includes part of the modern
village of Stoney Middleton. The village of Stoney Middleton on the Lover's Leap side
of the brook belonged to Eyam parish until 1934.
- A CD containing a transcription of
The Parish Registers of St Lawrence's Church
is available for purchase from Valerie Neal. Added 8 Mar 2006.
- Here are some Extracts of
Eyam Parish Records, collected by Rosemary Lockie, with
significant contributions from Andrea Taylor.
- The first surviving Eyam Parish Register
(12 September 1630 - 21 January 1768) has been transcribed
by John & Francine Clifford, and the first section, 1630-1700, has
been printed and is available for purchase as one of
Derbyshire Record Society Publications.
I believe there are plans to make the the second part, from 1701-1768, available
on microfiche.
A list of those buried during the Plague outbreak, September 1665 to October 1666 is
available in William Wood's
The History and Antiquities of Eyam (see also
above, Bibliography). There is a more
modern transcription detailing
Eyam Plague 1665-1666, which also includes some attractive
photographs of Eyam.
- The second General Register covers baptisms and burials for the period 1768-1812.
There are three baptism registers; 1813-1845, 1846-1890 and 1891-1913;
two marriage registers prior to 1837; 1754-1790, and 1791-1837, and an unbroken
series of marriage registers from 1837 onwards until (I think) the 1950s.
There is one burial register covering the period 1813-66.
The registers are all in excellent condition, and are available for
searching at the Derbyshire Record Office; however, the first register may be
consulted only on microfilm. The Clifford's transcription is however
excellent, and a result of a combined transcription of the PR and BTs,
so you don't really need to!
There are a number of unusual extracts from the registers listed
in the Miscellaneous section
of Andrew McCann's transcription of Rev. J. M. J. Fletcher's
The Plague Stricken Derbyshire
Village or What To See In andAround Eyam (see also
above, Bibliography).
All the more recent registers, including burials from 1867 to the present day, are still
in the possession of the Incumbent. However, the burials register, when I consulted it in 1987 at
the church was almost full, so if anyone knows differently, and it too
has been lodged in the Record Office, please let me know.
- Bishops Transcripts also exist covering the period 1660-1868.
The originals are held at the
Lichfield Joint Record Office, but have
been microfilmed, so the film should be available on loan via your
local Family History Center. There are two films - #0428912 (1660-1810),
and #0498081 (1810-1866).
Parish Register - Unusual Entry: "3rd March 1773 - On this day
3 corpse and other human bones found in a cavern in Eyam Dale by a person
who was trying for a lead mine".
- Transcription of Directory entry from
Glover's History and Gazetteer of the County of Derby,
1829 for Eyam, by Rosemary Lockie.
- A Description of Eyam and
Directory for
Stoney Middleton, Eyam, Calver and Neighbourhoods
from
Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835
by Rosemary Lockie.
- Transcription of section of a
Bagshaw's History, Gazetteer & Directory of Derbyshire
for Eyam in 1846 by Paul Bradford.
- Transcription of section of
White's History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Derby, 1857,
for Eyam by Rosemary Lockie.
- Partial transcription of section of Directory of
Sheffield and 20 miles round, 1862,
for Eyam by Rosemary Lockie.
- Transcription of section of
Kelly's Directory (1891) for Eyam (with Foolow, Eyam Woodland and Grindleford Bridge) by Ann Andrews. Added 6 May 2006.
- Items relating to the History of Eyam (an overflow of textual
information submitted for map text) may be found on the
Eyam Site Map for the Eyam Village website
(see also below under Maps. Subjects
include Aughton House, anecdotes from the Village School,
The Church, and Mining - don't miss the
Mining and Industry one, but Aughton House is good too.
[Site updated - link restored 30 Aug 2005]
- "Beating the Bounds" -
Copy of Memorandum made by Anthony BEELEY of Stoney Middleton
when the Inhabitants of Eyam rode a part of their Boundary, May 20th 1767 -
transcribed by Janet Kirk.
- Agreement of the freeholders in Eyam to
the award for dividing Eyam Pasture, 12th Nov. 1702; transcription
of an article published originally in the Derbyshire Archaeological
Journal (DAJ, vol. 20, 1898).
Surnames:-
Anderton, Ashton, Bagshaw, Bradshaw, Bradshaw, Brownhill, Brushfield,
Damm, Eaton, Eyre, Fearne, Frith, Frogatt, Furnisse, Gill, Gould, Gregory,
Hall, Hardy, Hibbert, Hunt, Leyland, Massland, Merill, Middleton,
Milnes, Moore, Moorewood, Morton, Mower, Redfearn, Robinette,
Sharpe, Sheldon, Tagg, Townsend, White, Wild, Wilson, Wright.
- An account of
Bradshaw Hall, and of
Leam, Foolow, and Eyam Halls taken from
Old Halls, Manors and Families of Derbyshire, Volume I
1892 (The High Peak) by Joseph Tilley, transcribed/OCR'd by
Rosemary Lockie.
- Whilst Eyam's Plague epidemic in 1665-6 seems to have become the one to
achieve most notoriety, in reality Eyam was just one of many towns and
villages over the centuries to have been affected by the disease.
Indeed, some experts say there was an epidemic every 30 years or so
following the outbreak known as The Black Death in 1348/9.
Information on Plague more generally is available on many sites, a
few of these are listed here.
-
The Plague, England and Loughborough 1539-1640
"A General Study of the Plague in England 1539-1640 with a
Specific Reference to Loughborough By Ian Jessiman". A very
thorough treatise on symptoms, spread of disease, and its effect on a
particular community.
-
Pictures of the Plague - actual footage, shot at the time... no,
just joking, folks - contemporary prints of Scenes
During the Great Plague, Carrying Corpses Away From Town, Killing Dogs
to prevent the spread, &c; and don't miss
The Doctor's Robe, which includes a description of the typical
medical practitioner of the time! By Ed Stephan.
-
Social and Economic Effects of the Plague - part of a more general
site featuring
The Plague (Origins, Causes, Effects, &c.)
-
Plague and Public Health in Renaissance Europe - documents
"the arrival, impact and response to the problem of epidemic
disease in Western Europe between 1348 and 1530".
-
Eyam Plague 1665-1666 - a statistician's view - site includes
graphs of (1) elapsed days versus case number and (2) (heuristic) estimate of
intensity of infection against elapsed days. Interesting, although I can't help
feeling that both graphs demonstrate basically what we knew already, that
it got worse in August!
The above list was based originally on a set of links accessible from a page
which was located at:-
http://vwww.com/hub/uni/highdown/hums/History/plague/plague.htm
which now appears to have disappeared.
The following men were mustered from Eyam for military
service; training at Bakewell under Sir John Manners, and Robert
Eyre Esq. in preparation for defending Britain in Protestant
Elizabeth I's war against Catholic Philip II of Spain - the force
which was to become known as the Spanish Armada. The original
documents are preserved at Belvoir Castle, in the possession of the
Duke of Rutland, and were first published in the Journal of the
Derbyshire Archaeological Society, January 1895. This particular
transcription is an extract from
The Spanish Armada & Local Levies (Notes from a Peakland Parish, Chapter X).
| 1585 |
|
1587 |
|---|
Thomas TOWNSENDE; Edmunde
WILLSON; Christopher MERILL,
Nycholas REDFFERNE.
i call'; i corslet; i ar'; i bill. |
|
Christopher MERRELL, calliv',
George BAGSHAWE, cor'; George
HALLAM, musk'; Willm CHAPMAN, cor'. |
There is a record of a Christopher MERRIL's Will, dated 1598, in
the Lichfield Wills Calendar, so it appears he did survive these two
mobilisations. Alas, however the document itself has not survived
to the present day!
- Most readers will know this already, but just in case not, this
place-name is pronounced 'Eem'!
- Generations of the WRIGHT family have lived at
Eyam Hall ever
since the house was built, in 1672. It is still their family home
but it has also been opened to the public since 1992.
- Eyam - Lists of Licensed Victuallers, transcribed by Janet Kirk:-
-
Bygone Industries of the Peak: Silk Industries,
article by Julie Bunting, reproduced from The Peak Advertiser.
Records where the Silk Factory belonging to Ralph Wain was.
- A list of
Wills of Eyam residents 1586 to 1650 held at the
Lichfield Joint Record Office. Also includes ROWLAND
up to 1727.
This information was very kindly sent to me by the late
Donald Thompson, of Kenilworth, Warwickshire in 1993.
- Here is a list of Eyam & Highlow Voters.
© Copyright Rosemary Lockie, GENUKI and contributors, 1999-2008, &c.
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[Last updated 20 Nov 2009 - 13:47 by Rosemary Lockie]
