Eyam Church
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The Church of St Lawrence
Church Street
Eyam
The earliest part of the existing church is the chancel and north arcade which their lancet windows. Supporting the arcade is a circular pier and a quatrefoil pier.
The south arcade was built later and Perpendicular, which is in line with the celestory west tower and roof of the nave. Inbetween the celestry windows are an interesting series of paintings, directly on the wall dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. These represent the twelve tribes of Israel along with later work detailing the Creed and Lord's prayer. The images were rediscovered when galleries were removed in 1868, having been covered with plaster and previously lost for over two hundred years. They were finally unveiled in 1963, for public view, after initially being recovered to protect from light damage.
It is said that a stone in the corner of the vestry reputedly records the death of Joseph Hunt, a rector of Eyam, not cut from the same cloth as his heroic predecessors. He was buried on 16th December 1709, together with his wife who died six years earlier. She was the daughter of a village publican. Apparently, one day whilst under the influence of alcohol the rector and Ann took part in a mock wedding ceremony. However, the Bishop found out and, insisted upon their marrying legally. This caused uproar and a breach of promise as the rector was already engaged to a Derby woman. Some years passed in litigation which cost the rector his money and his friends and resulted in him taking permanent shelter in the vestry where he remained in sanctuary from the law hounds until his death!
Next to the church is The Rectory, rebuilt in 1768, which was at one time the home of Rev. Thomas Seward. His daughter Anna (born in Eyam in 1747) came to be known as the ‘Swan of Lichfield’ where she later lived, having written the "Eligy on Captian Cook" in 1780.
The rectory was also occupied for a time by a Dowager Duchess of Devonshire who had a penchant for exaggerated millinery creations. Doorways had to be enlarged to enable her to pass through without stooping and dislodging her head-dresses!
In St Lawrence's churchyard there is an epitaphe on one of the gravestones, which reads:
“Fear no more the heat o’ the Sun
Nor the furious winter’s rages
Thou thy worldly task hast done
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages”
Church Street
Eyam
Eyam is famous for it's historical tale of inhabitants heroism during the Plague of 1665-1666. The rector at the time, William Mompesson and his predecessor, Thomas Stanley, both persuaded village inhabitants to place themselves in quarantine for months so that the outbreak of the disease did not spread to surrounding areas. At this time, of the 850 villagers that resided in Eyam at the time, some 350 perished of the disease. St Lawrence's Church, which was central to events at the time, still has an exhibition within it detailing these heroic events.
The churchyard, today, houses an eighteenth-century sundial but also has an Anglo-Saxon cross which dates back over to thousand years earlier, and is probably a relic from a previous Saxon church that resided on the same spot. There is no trace however of this in either in the Domesday Book or through archeology. Neither is there a trace of a Norman church, though the current church does possess a lovely carved Norman font.
The earliest part of the existing church is the chancel and north arcade which their lancet windows. Supporting the arcade is a circular pier and a quatrefoil pier.
The south arcade was built later and Perpendicular, which is in line with the celestory west tower and roof of the nave. Inbetween the celestry windows are an interesting series of paintings, directly on the wall dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. These represent the twelve tribes of Israel along with later work detailing the Creed and Lord's prayer. The images were rediscovered when galleries were removed in 1868, having been covered with plaster and previously lost for over two hundred years. They were finally unveiled in 1963, for public view, after initially being recovered to protect from light damage.
It is said that a stone in the corner of the vestry reputedly records the death of Joseph Hunt, a rector of Eyam, not cut from the same cloth as his heroic predecessors. He was buried on 16th December 1709, together with his wife who died six years earlier. She was the daughter of a village publican. Apparently, one day whilst under the influence of alcohol the rector and Ann took part in a mock wedding ceremony. However, the Bishop found out and, insisted upon their marrying legally. This caused uproar and a breach of promise as the rector was already engaged to a Derby woman. Some years passed in litigation which cost the rector his money and his friends and resulted in him taking permanent shelter in the vestry where he remained in sanctuary from the law hounds until his death!
Next to the church is The Rectory, rebuilt in 1768, which was at one time the home of Rev. Thomas Seward. His daughter Anna (born in Eyam in 1747) came to be known as the ‘Swan of Lichfield’ where she later lived, having written the "Eligy on Captian Cook" in 1780.
The rectory was also occupied for a time by a Dowager Duchess of Devonshire who had a penchant for exaggerated millinery creations. Doorways had to be enlarged to enable her to pass through without stooping and dislodging her head-dresses!
In St Lawrence's churchyard there is an epitaphe on one of the gravestones, which reads:
“Fear no more the heat o’ the Sun
Nor the furious winter’s rages
Thou thy worldly task hast done
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages”
The church, with it's rich history, is very popular with visitors to the village but still plays a big part in village life. It's bells ring out in celebration throughout the week and it's services mark Sunday's; high days and holidays for the village, making it still a central point for inhabitants
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