Joanna Lumley’s Home Sweet Home

Joanna Lumley in the Peak District

Joanna’s new TV series Home sweet home on ITV started only yesterday, 2 February. In the opening episode she visited a famous village of Eyam where she learned about the interesting historical event that happened in 1665. Eyam was affected by plaque but the way the villagers had decided to stop spreading is something we can reflect on our way of living.

Episode 1: Eyam village

Joanna is fascinated of the story about how the village had decided to deal with spreading of the plaque. A daughter of a descendant is explaining how and where the virus started. You get a chance to see the original cottage where it all began, now it is called “Plaque Cottage”. After that, Joanna will visit the local graveyard where her guide is mentioning Elisabeth Hancock who survived despite that her 6 children and husband died within only a week.

You can watch the opening episode on ITV Hub or on your catch up TV.

In this episode you will also be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Peak District. The picturesque area of this part of the Peak District, Derbyshire, is just amazing and Joanna cannot be more satisfied with her experience over there. The large farms, cosy little cottages and walks around are something we can easily fall in love with.

The story of the Plaque

In 1665, a bundle of cloth arrived from London for the local tailor. When he and his assistant opened the bundle they could noticed it was infested with rat fleas. Not long after they both died the disease had started spreading quickly to the cottages nearby.

As the disease spread very quickly the villagers took number of precautions to slow the spread of the illness. The set of rules included no gatherings were allowed, church service was taken outside, or they could not get in-out of the village. It was a decision of putting the entire village into isolation and quarantine to prevent the further spread. The supplies of food and necessities were brought by the neighbourhood villages and all were left at “the entrance” to the village. The villagers stayed in the quarantine for 14 months, until the last person died, in 1666. Today, their brave decision of self-isolation reminds us our was of living during Coronavirus pandemic.

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