"When the train of human events appear to deviate from their wonted
course, and become productive of character altogether new and unexampled, they
have a claim on the world to be perpetuated. An instance of this kind when
nature has appeared surprisingly to wander from its wonted operations, is
displayed in the character and manner of life of a certain Person in the
vicinity of the Township of Tattenhall....Mr John Harris, the Hermit, is a man
about 5 feet 10 inches high, of a ruddy complexion, strongly built, a strong
voice and walks very straight and remarkably quick: he was a man possessed of a
very large fortune, he had several estates;....which he sold after his
parents decease, and took his abode in dens and caves in the mountains, in
which he has resided ever since, which is the space of about 66 years....The
first place he made his abode in, was a cave belonging to W. Leche Esq., at
Carden in the county of Chester, in which place he resided for the space of 20
years and upwards...."

annymous pamphlet dated 1809
Sinclair, A.G.M. & Matthews, K.J. 1999 The English Hermit. Capra 1 available at - http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/1/hermit.html