Wakes Week celebrates water and springs of Derbyshire and Eyam

At his side, a large Australian was beaming cheerfully, dressed for the English summer in a raincoat and lumberjack shirt, contrasting nicely with Rev Gilbert’s surplice and cassock.

Chris Featherstone, from Brisbane, had arrived at the blessing of the wells in Eyam because a year ago, his researcher wife had discovered that Chris was, he said: “The eight times great-grandson of the Reverend William Mompesson.”

Mompesson was the vicar of Eyam who became internationally famous by persuading his parishioners to impose a quarantine on themselves to prevent the spread of bubonic plague to the rest of Derbyshire and nearby Sheffield, after the plague had arrived in the village in 1665 in a box of cloth.

“We think of the bravery of the man, and the amazing love and self-sacrifice of the whole village,” said Rev Gilbert.

The theme of last Saturday was about giving thanks for the waters and springs of Derbyshire and Eyam, he added. “We take water for granted in this country, where it comes fairly freely, but we should remember there are some places in the world where simple water doesn’t really exist, and millions of people have to survive on dirty water, and die from dirty water.”

“Australia is in drought most of the time, and to come here and see all the green is beautiful,” said Chris. “To give thanks for all that really is a good thing to do.”

Eyam Wakes Week began with the opening of the wells and their blessing, along with a procession this year led by the Tideswell Band and the village Queen and Princess. The week culminates in the village carnival this Saturday, which is open to all, said chair of the Carnival committee Judith Hancock.

“Carnival Week is the most important fundraiser for the Eyam Sports Association, which raises money for our sports fields, cricket pitch, and playgrounds,” she said.

The £6,000-10,000 raised each year have helped improve the sports fields pavilion and laid a new football pitch in recent years, she said, adding that the sports facilities are hugely important for all villagers.

Judith is from a long-established village family, and said that keeping a Derbyshire village thriving is hard work - only one of Eyam’s original five pubs now remains, and many shops have disappeared, she said. But the well dressings and Wakes Week survive.

“It’s very important to keep all this alive, because it’s history,” she said. “A lot of the old things were very good, and we don’t want to be losing them – they need to be kept, and treasured really.”

Townhead Well designer Kelly Gibbons was introduced to well dressing as a four-year-old, she said. “Mum and dad gave me a tray with some clay and said ‘draw a picture, and fill it in with petals.’”

A team of 20 to 30 people work all and every day for a week before the well dressing is opened, she said, and that’s after a year’s work for designers like herself. “We’re already thinking about next year,” she said.

Owner of Eyam Country Store Lynne Brindley said the well dressings and the village history still bring in tourists from far and wide. “Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Mexico - it’s surreal where people come from. Eyam is one of the iconic points for people travelling up the country from London.”

Like Chris, who had already visited Eyam twice as a tourist before he discovered his own family connection. “I was gobsmacked when I found out I had such a famous relative,” he said.

He was impressed by how his committed Anglican ancestor was able to set aside his religious differences with predecessor puritan Thomas Stanley to jointly win the respect of the villagers before consigning many of them to death (including Mompesoon’s own wife) to keep the plague from spreading.

“There’s a lot to learn from that story, if people want to learn it,” said Chris.

“The personal sacrifice, the danger, and the commitment to doing the right thing, and Mompesson never wavered from that path.”

Visit www.eyam-museum.org.uk