banjoman, did you not bother to read the rest of this thread? The Eyam history was clearly made up at a time later than 1909, when the guidebook to Eyam made no reference to the rhyme. There is no good evidence that this rhyme has anything to do with the plague, or with Eyam. To ask who wrote it is a bit silly, since as with most folk rhymes the origin is unknown. But it is unlikely to be as old as 1665.

PLEASE, read threads before posting to them!