Camping – Day 1 (Eyam – St. Lawrence’s Church – Luke Furniss)

This gravestone is located by the side of St. Lawrence’s church, attached to the wall with iron supports. It is the grave of Luke Furniss (?-16 July 1682) and is in remarkably good condition for its age, as well as being from a period from when relatively few stones remain in graveyards.

It’s an interesting stone in its own right, the 1682 death looks like it was originally written as 167 before being changed, whilst Furniss is perhaps Furness. The positioning of the ‘th’ on his wife’s Mary’s death also looks odd. The village museum has records which suggest that Luke had moved to the village after the plague of 1665, as he wasn’t listed as a resident during this time.