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Garden hermits orornamental hermits were people encouraged to live alone in purpose-builthermitages,follies,grottoes, orrockeries on the estates of wealthy landowners, primarily during the 18th century. Suchhermits would be encouraged to remain permanently on site, where they could be fed, cared for, and consulted for advice, or viewed for entertainment.[1]
Professor Gordon Campbell, of theUniversity of Leicester, suggests thatFrancis of Paola was among the first of the trend, living as a hermit in the early 15th century in a cave on his father's estate.[1] Francis later served as a confidant and advisor to KingCharles VIII.
Thereafter, throughoutFrance, estates of dukes and other lords often included small chapels or other buildings where a residenthermit could remain in attendance. According to Campbell, the first estate with a well-known hermitage (which included a small house, chapel and garden) wasChâteau de Gaillon, renovated byCharles Cardinal de Bourbon during the 16th century.
In the 1590s,William Cecil andRobert Cecil twice welcomedElizabeth I toTheobalds House near London withentertainments delivered by a hermit.[2] Garden hermits became popular with British aristocracy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Contemporary accounts suggest theWeld family kept an ornamental hermit in a purpose-built hermitage on theLulworth Estate inDorset.[3] Of equivalent novelty, the Welds also maintained a "mimic"fort andharbour beside an adjoining lake.[3] BothPainshill andHawkstone Park were said to have employed ornamental hermits. The one at Painshill, hired byThe Hon. Charles Hamilton for a seven-year term under strict conditions, lasted three weeks until he was sacked after being discovered in a local pub.[4][5]
The trend continued through the 1830s, when the idea became less popular as estate landscaping concepts evolved.[6]
Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, garden hermits were novelties and eccentricities. Grottos had become more popular during the 18th century as places to withdraw for meditation, relaxation, and reflection.[1] With an increased focus onindustrialism and production, contemplative garden meditation was viewed by some as an extravagance. With the lack of personal free time in combination with an increase in disposable income, the popularity of "natural" garden landscaping and the rise ofneoclassical culture established an environment in which the idea of garden hermits as novelty guests became popular.[1]
In some early instances, hermits were simply represented or hinted-at, rather than personified; outside a folly or grotto, a small table and chair, reading glasses and a classical text might be placed suggesting that it was where a hermit lived.[6] Later, suggestions of hermits were replaced with actual hermits – men hired for the sole purpose of inhabiting a small structure and functioning as any other garden ornament.[1] Hermits would sometimes be asked to make themselves available to guests, answering questions and providing counsel. In some cases, the hermits would not communicate with visitors, functioning instead like a perpetual stage play or live diorama.[1]
In return for their services-in-residence, hermits would generally receive astipend in addition toroom and board.[3][6]