23. Old Jenkins

These terrible scourges must have caused great terror among the people. But great as the fear must have been, it is difficult to believe the traditional Sutton story of Old Jenkins and his wife.

It is said that the old couple had been ill for some time with a kind of fever. At first the neighbours did what they could for them. As the weeks grew into months, however, and the old man and his wife showed no signs of improvement, an uneasy feeling began to grow intvillagers' minds. Stories of past plagues were whispered. Tales of the sufferings of the victims were told, and memories of whole families being swept away were brought back. At last the fears of the neighbours turned to panic, and it is said, they took the old man and his wife and buried them alive in the field by the Holme Bridge. The field is still known as Jenkins Hole.