PLAYWRIGHT and producer Lucy Gannon, from St Dogmaels, says there is nothing new in the current coronavirus lockdown.

Here she highlights a lesson from the past where the actions of a Derbyshire village’s 800 inhabitants had far-reaching consequences for the future treatment of the plague…

‘YOU may not know about Eyam, a small village in Derbyshire, but the story of this rural community reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun, and that the courage and kindness of man shines brightest in times of trouble.

If we are tempted to moan and groan about social distancing during the current coronavirus pandemic we would do well to remember Eyam.

Eyam was once a busy and thriving community, much like St Dogmaels (without the sea!) but it has become known as ‘the plague village’ and its story of heroism and selflessness, almost beyond belief, puts our recent troubles with Covid-19 into perspective;

In the Autumn of 1665 a bale of cloth was delivered to the village. There was nothing unusual in that, except that in the damp folds of cloth there was a flea from plague-ridden London.

A tailor’s assistant, George Viccars, hung the cloth out to air and so the flea found a new host and George became the first plague victim in Eyam.

In the next three months, 42 villagers died and by the spring of 1666, the remaining villagers were planning to scatter throughout the county but the vicar, William Mompesson, begged them to stay where they were, so that they wouldn’t spread the disease to the population of Sheffield and to the mill towns, quarries and the many industries in the area.

Mompesson pleaded with his parishioners to go into lock-down, sealing the village off completely, and the Earl of Devonshire, who lived nearby at Chatsworth, promised to send in food and supplies.

The terrified villagers, already shaken by so many deaths and funerals, at first opposed him but he vowed that he would stay with them, in the village, to face whatever they faced, and slowly and surely he won them over.

Here’s an excerpt from the BBC website about the village:

Dr Michael Sweet, a wildlife disease specialist at the University of Derby, said: “The decision to quarantine the village meant that human-to-human contact, especially with those outside of the village was basically eliminated which would have certainly significantly reduced the potential of the spread of the pathogen.

“Without the restraint of the villagers many more people, especially from neighbouring villages, would have more than likely have succumbed to the disease. The weather was remarkably hot that summer, which meant the fleas were more active, and the pestilence spread unchecked throughout the village.

“Despite this, hardly anyone broke the cordon; even those who were reluctant to stay saw it through. “

Maybe a few months ago it would have been hard for us, in 2020, to imagine that terrible time, but now we understand it only too well.

The bravery of the Eyam villagers cost them dearly, with 260 of the village’s inhabitants, from 76 families, dying.

Numbers are cold but when we make that personal and think of one poor woman, Elizabeth Hancock, who lost six of her children and her husband in the space of just eight days, we surely have to salute the bravery and sacrifice of these people who took ‘staying at home’ so seriously.

Mrs Plant, who is a direct descendant of Margaret Blackwell, one of the few villagers to have survived the plague, said: “It must have been terrifying, but every single family would have had that strong belief in God, and would not have feared death.”

They saved many many lives. By staying at home, we can do the same.’