A DERBYSHIRE village is going under the Antiques Road Trip spotlight next week.
Two experts from the BBC1 TV show visited Eyam as part of their journey to seek out hidden gems in antique shops before selling them at auction to see which of them makes the most profit.
In the show to be broadcast next Tuesday, Anita Manning and Paul Laidlaw arrive at Eyam Parish Church in a 1957 Morris Minor Traveller.
Churchwarden Lynn Jackson said: "I went to meet Anita and Paul when they arrived and I got the church ready for filming.
"I stayed out of the way when they were filming but I came back a bit later.
"Paul stayed behind in the church for quite some time to look around and talk to me when the crew had gone off filming outside.
"He said he'd had a really lovely time in Eyam and he asked me all about the church and the congregation. He is a really nice, lovely man."
Eyam was filmed as part of the road trip because of its rich history and its setting in the Derbyshire Peak District. The village is famous for placing itself under quarantine during the Great Plague of 1665 to prevent the deadly infection spreading to surrounding towns.
The bubonic plague arrived in Eyam after a tailor from the village ordered a bale of cloth from London, where the infection was rife. The fabric was infested with plague-carrying fleas and within a week the tailor's assistant was dead.
A total of 260 people from the village died during the subsequent outbreak.
Between the first death and the last, the people of Eyam sealed off the village from the surrounding areas to prevent the disease from spreading.
Lynn said: "People have asked me if it's morbid living here because of the plague but I tell them that it's not, it's a celebration of heroism. People died in order to save others.
"If they hadn't stayed in the village then many more people would have lost their lives."
Eyam attracts many visitors and school parties because of its plague history and attractive buildings.
And as well as the Antiques Road Trip experts, Lynne recalls visits from other TV personalities.
She said: "We have had quite a few famous faces here over the years. Ade Edmondson came to film here a couple of years ago, and we've had John Sergeant here as well. Everybody who comes says what a lovely place it is.
"It's nice that it's an area of interest for so many people.
"It is also the 350th anniversary of the start of the plague this year, so we have a lot of events coming up."
Eyam features on Tuesday's episode of the Antiques Road Trip, which is aired at 4.30pm on BBC1.
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