This end of the town every day grows very bad of the plague.
Today, I saw two or three houses marked with a red cross upon the doors, and “Lord have mercy upon us” written on them which was a sad sight to me, as it was the first time I had seen this. Below are some of his diary entries from the time of the Great Plague: His diary was eventually published for the first time in the 19th century. He lived in London during the Great Plague outbreak, and kept a very detailed diary in which he recorded his thoughts about several important historical events, including the plague outbreak and the Great Fire of London. Samuel Pepys was a Member of Parliament and worked for the Navy. Some people placed money in small pots of vinegar when paying for goods to avoid touching it directly from someone else. It was believed this would protect them against plague, which was completely incorrect. Some people, particularly searchers, who were responsible for collecting the bodies of plague victims, decided to smoke tobacco.
Some people took action on an individual basis to try and protect themselves from catching the disease: Public gatherings were banned, and people were not allowed to travel from one town to another unless they had a certificate proving they didn’t have plague. Searchers had the job of entering the home of suspected plague victims to search for bodies, and removing them to be placed in plague burial pits. Watchers were employed to make sure people didn’t leave. Plague victims were locked in their houses for 40 days and a red cross was painted on their door. It is estimated that 40,000 cats and 200,000 dogs were killed. Instructing fires to be lit in the street, so people could breathe in the smell of smoke, rather than the miasma believed to be causing the disease.Ĭats and dogs were killed, as it was believed that they might spread the plague. Some actions taken by the government included: The church in Eyam has records of 273 people who died from plague.Įvidence produced at the time of the Great Plague gives us useful information about what people did to try and prevent the plague from spreading. Some historians have suggested that up to 80% of Eyam’s residents died from plague, though the precise population of the village is not known. The whole village was placed into quarantine to try and contain the outbreak. One of these measures required families to bury their own members who had died of plague, while another saw church services relocated to outdoor spaces, so that churchgoers could be kept apart. This cloth was infested with fleas when Hadfield’s assistant opened the box he was bitten and died shortly after, along with other members of his household.įrom May 1666, the villagers tried a number of different things to prevent the spread of the disease. Historians believe that the plague arrived in the village when a box of cloth was delivered from London to Alexander Hadfield, who was the local tailor. One of the worst affected locations beyond London was Eyam, a village in Derbyshire. London was not the only place in England to suffer an outbreak of the plague.
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