Eyam Plague Village

Eyam in Derbyshire became associated with plague after infection reached the village in 1665, traditionally linked to cloth brought from London. The village’s isolation turned a local outbreak into a story of collective sacrifice and endurance.

The episode mattered because it shows how plague outside London could transform rural life. Quarantine, burial, fear of contagion, religious interpretation and the collapse of normal labour and kinship routines all shaped the village’s experience.

Year of Wonders uses a fictionalised plague village to examine faith, fear, gender and communal survival.