Anchorite's Cell
Text: Chester City Council
One of the most unusual buildings in Chester is the Anchorite's Cell or 'Hermitage', a small sandstone building by the river at the Groves. 
It dates from the mid 14th century and was one of two 'cells' built as religious retreats for reclusive monks or hermits. Until the reformation it belonged to the collegiate Church of St. John the Baptist which stands on the sandstone ridge above the river. The Anchorite's Cell can just be seen in the foreground of this print of the church dating from the early 19th century.
The building stands on a sandstone outcrop in a former quarry, which is now used as a bowling green. It was re-modelled as a house in the 19th century, when gothic traceried windows were added. The porch on the north side originally came from St. Martin's Church which was demolished in 1897. The Anchorite's Cell was refurbishd as a cottage in the early 1970s.
Tradition has lent the building royal and romantic associations. In the middle ages, there was a widely held view that King Harold had not been killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but fled to Chester, ending his days as a hermit in the Anchorite's Cell.