Information to Users
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UM! films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy subm itted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI "ITS CHARACTER SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED": NARRATIVE, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM IN THE PLAGUE VILLAGE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Christopher W. Antonsen, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Professor Patrick B. M ullen, A dviser Approved by Professor Amy E. Shuman Professor Nicholas Howe A dviser Department of English UMI Number: 3022437 UMI UMI Microform 3022437 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Christopher W. Antonsen 2001 ABSTRACT Eyam is a historic village in the English North Midlands, famous because it was the site of a great outbreak of plague in 1665-1666. When the plague hit, the villagers ultimately agreed to quarantine themselves within a specific boundary around Eyam in order to prevent the spread of plague to neighboring areas. The village was saved although as many as 1/3 of the population died before the plague ended. Today, Eyam is one of the most-visited tourist sites in the Peak District, the world's busiest national park (22,000,000 visitors in 1996). The community—still populated by the descendants of the plague's victims and survivors—is undergoing rapid changes due largely to economic and social factors related to tourism and suburban migrations from large cities nearby. Historically, Eyam has been a laborer's zmd agricultural community, and local incomes cannot measure up against those of wealthier "newcomers" who wish to move into the village and enjoy its specific historical appeal. Consequently, the village is being depopulated and repopulated while community change is mediated by several outside forces: national and county planning regulations, the Peak District's own planning restrictions, and the natural forces of local respresentation managed for consumption by tourists who arrive with very narrow and specific expectations. Altogether, this has created an unhappy situation in Eyam. Opinions—though strong—vary significantly, polarized around the opposing beliefs that (a) tourist cash can reinvigorate what was really a withering village and (b) economic and social forces exerted mostly through "heritage tourism" are killing a community that had survived for centuries before outside priorities were favored over local needs. ii This folkloristic study is based on archival and public documents as well as ethnographic fieldwork in the village conducted on several occasions during a five-year period. It examines Eyam's current perceived crisis as a case study how community is interpreted in the context of heritage tourism, suburbanization, and a vast and powerful public and private planning and development structure. m For Tristan and Tobias, oiir tioo precious cups of Sweet T IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS From the Edge of the Plate My father in-law really enjoys a good piece of pie. The sweeter, the better. His first stroke with the fork is always to cut a small triangular portion off the tip of the slice and push it to the edge of the plate. Then he eats the rest of the slice, crust and all, and returns to the little piece stored away—called his "quittin' bite"—to savor the pie's sweetest, most prized mouthful. On many lovely summer evenings or cozy winter days when I was cooped up in a small room drafting this dissertation, I looked forward to the day when I could write the acknowledgements. It was a treat I reserved for myself to enjoy entirely at the end. And so, writing the acknowledgments is at long last before me, m y qidttin' bite to savor as I please. First I must recognize the friendship, guidance, and other contributions given freely to me by my friends and acquaintances in Eyam. I can happily say that my study of Eyam could not have been so fruitful and enjoyable had it not been for young people like Kelly Davies and Joanna R. I wish them both luck as they finish school and university, respectfully, and hope they will find enjoyable time to spend in Eyam as they grow older. The Blackwells, particularly Peter and Geoff, are very im portant to Eyam, especially its thriving and changing traditional hie. To Geoff I wish continued success with the much-anticipated and enjoyed Geoff Blackwell Quiz during Carnival, and to Peter I offer my humblest gratitude for permitting me the honor of helping to prepare his 25th and final Eyam wells-dressing. Thanks to Peter, I can proudly say I know what zuells-dresser's back and wells-dresser's sqidnt are—maladies that, were it not for the honor. would not be commendable at all! Others in the village have my thanks for conversations, long and short, and for friendship: Lynn Streyer and Dr. Streyer, Evelyn and John Lomas, Charles and Maureen Maltby, Joan Plant, Roy White, John and Mrs. Davies, Nancy, the "Teacup Ladies," and Gareth at the Barrel Inn in Bretton. To still other Eyam friends I owe an additional debt of gratitude, for these are folks who took time to speak with me and answer questions about the village, either on or off tape: Miss Clarice White, Susan (pseudonym), David Shaw, John Clifford, Francine Clifford, Stephanie Lowe, Andrew Lowe, Granville Lowe, Meirlys Lewis, David Lewis, and Maureen Maltby. Their words and voices are a pleasure to hear when I return to my tape recordings, and I am thoroughly indebted for their assistance. Finally, in Eyam, I owe special thanks and credit for the cooperation and lasting friendship and warmth afforded me by the Cliffords, the Lewises, and especially the entire Lowe family. To John and Francine Clifford, I send a copy of this complete work, in honor of their contributions to Eyam's memory and modem presentation as well as my personal gratitude for their friendship, collegial spirit, and hard-earned, valuable knowledge of Eyam itself. To Meirlys and David Lewis I offer my sincerest appreciation of the extra effort and consideration they gave me when all they knew was that I was an American with little money who wanted to come and stay in Eyam while I studied it for a research project. Their bed and breakfast—their home—was every bit home for me, full of comfort, security, warmth, and the daily pleasure of returning there to find familiar and happy people to sit and chat with. In a very tangible way, their generosity and extra accommodations made this dissertation possible. And I cannot convey enough of my personal devotion and affection for the Lowe family: Stephanie, Granville, Andrew, Mark, Jeanette, Josh, and Dawn. Theirs were the first and most enduring welcoming arms for me in the village and I feel as though I have family there whenever I think of them. Whether I was driving Andrew to a bus stop in Chesterfield, VI helping Mark and Andrew and Uncle Chris to baste the roasted sheep and toast oatcakes during Carnival, admiring the beautiful polished steel flower holder at Grandmother's grave site with Granvüle, or meeting up with Stephanie and others by accident in the village, I knew I had a family there. Their generosity went even beyond time and effort. I believe they even sacrificed some for me, in having me out to dinner with the family, in sending an authentic Manchester United jersey home to my wife right out of the closet, and in insisting that I take and keep Granville's and Stephanie's hand made polished steel fruit dish (which is on our kitchen counter still today). I admire their spirit and hope to deserve their continued friendship in years to come: I've grown right fotid of ye. Thanks to the Ohio State University Graduate School for awarding me a 1997 GSARA scholarship with travel funding. Without that support, I could not have undertaken this rewarding fieldwork project. Thanks also to the University of Sheffield Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language and John Widdowson in particular for granting me the Honorary Visiting Fellow award in 1997 and opening the Centre for my use while 1 was in England. These are great honors that gave with them tangible benefits that were critical to my success.