Ornamental Hermit

Shugborough, an 18th-century estate of 900 acres in Staffordshire, England, advertised for an ornamental hermit in the summer of 2002 and received over 200 applications from around the world. The winner, Ansuman Biswas of London, spent a weekend in the cave of the premises, and was on display as an ornamental hermit at select times for visitors. The press release contains details. The custom of maintaining a hermit to amuse or frighten guests of estates was not uncommon in the eighteenth century England, and presumably it garnered a little tourist traffic for the shire and the Museum which sponsored the Hermit Project as part of its Heritage Week events. Press release at: http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/live/welcome.asp?id=1673. Enter “hermit” in the search box to get to the specific page.