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Derbyshire Towns & Parishes

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]

Archives and Libraries Bibliography Biography Cemeteries Census Church History Church Records Directories Gazetteers History Land and Property Manors Maps

Early 20thC Map Click to view larger area.

Medical Records Military History Military Records Names, Geographical Newspapers Nobility Occupations Probate Records Schools Social Life and Customs Taxation Voting Registers

Archives and Libraries

• 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.

Bibliography

• Wood, William - The History & Antiquities of Eyam. Country Books, 2006.
  
  • ISBN 1-901214-34-6
  Read more in this Review of ‘The History & Antiquities of Eyam’ (Peak Advertiser, 25th September 2006)
  Added 11 Sep 2006.

• Portions of William Wood's Tales and Traditions of the Peak have been transcribed by Andrew McCann, from a copy of the book in his possession. 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.

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Biography

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.

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Cemeteries

• Memorial Inscriptions in St Lawrence's Churchyard, Eyam. A complete record of all the readable MIs in Eyam Churchyard, except the most recent. Latest Additions: 25 Mar 2004.

• Photograph of Riley Graves and brief account of the HANCOCK family buried there.

• Inscriptions on the War Memorial, and Photograph of the War Memorial, supplied by Alf Beard.

• List of names taken from a booklet issued for the Unveiling and Dedication of the Memorial to the Men of Eyam who fell in the Great War, on Sunday 3rd April 1921, contributed by Paul Maltby. These are for 1914-1919 only, and of course reflect the ones listed above. Added 19 Feb 2007.

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Census

• 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.

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Church History

• Welcome to Eyam Parish Church - the Church's official site. Includes a History of the church, and a Map of the village.

• Various photographs of Eyam Church, Churchyard and Chapels are available in our Eyam Photo Gallery. The latest addition is the Methodist Church, Eyam, from Alf Beard.

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Church Records

• 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".

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Directories

• 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 History & Gazetteer 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.

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Gazetteers

• The transcription of the section for Eyam from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

History

• 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]

• Various scenes of early 20th century Old Postcards of Plague Services at Eyam. Added 27 Oct 2007.

• Various scenes of the past - The Church, The Hall, &c are available in our collection of Old Postcards of Eyam. Added 27 Oct 2007.

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Land and Property

• "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.

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Manors

• 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.

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Maps

• "To mark the history and present of the village, the Eyam Map Company produced a unique pictorial Eyam Village Map, launched on April 27th 2000". Five years later in 2005, villagers have created a CD-ROM, available for purchase locally and through the Eyam Village Website, Also available locally, and via Eyam Museum Booklist, price £2.50.

• A simple Map of Eyam is available on Registered Tourist Guide Lesley Badger's site.

• There is also a Location Map, and a Village Map on the Welcome to Eyam Parish Church - the Church's official site.

Medical Records

• 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.

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Military History

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!

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Military Records

• Eyam - Roll of Honour, 1915 - 50 portraits of those who served in WWI.

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Names, Geographical

• Most readers will know this already, but just in case not, this place-name is pronounced 'Eem'!

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Newspapers

• Eyam, Stoney Middleton, Calver, and Grindleford - some local news items published in The Derbyshire Times Saturday January 20th 1923. "The funeral took place at Eyam Parish Church on Wednesday of Mrs. Betsy Hannah Outram, widow of Mr. Robert Outram...".

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Nobility

• A collection of articles featuring Stafford Familes of North-West Derbyshire, with emphasis on Staffords of Eyam - transcriptions by Rosemary Lockie, and Paul Bradford, with contributions from Anthony Stafford.

• 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.

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Occupations

• Eyam - Lists of Licensed Victuallers, transcribed by Janet Kirk:-

  1753-1764

  1765-1776

  1777-1809

  1810-1821

  1822-1827

• 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.

Probate Records

• 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.

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Schools

• Eyam School opened in 1871 and celebrated its Centenary with a commemorative mug, 1877 - 1977. Eyam Village Website has a page devoted to "Anecdotes from the Annals of Eyam School". [Site updated - link restored 30 Aug 2005]

Social Life and Customs

• Photograph of The Mechanics Institute, Eyam, from Peter & Janet Kirk.

• Some wonderful Pictures from the Past, featuring a microcosm of life in Eyam, including a photograph of a Maypole group, of around 1910, early Village scenes, and wedding celebrations at 'West Dene'.

Taxation

• A list of Names from the Hearth Tax Assessments, 1662-70. Transcribed by Rosemary Lockie, and reproduced with kind permission of David Edwards, and the Derbyshire Record Society.

Voting Registers

• Here is a list of Eyam & Highlow Voters.

  Voters, 1832

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