Anchorite's Cell
The Hermitage
Photograph of a sandstone building
The Anchorite's Cell, photographed in 2011
Anchorite's Cell, Chester is located in Chester city centre
Anchorite's Cell, Chester
Location of the Anchorite's Cell in Chester
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeReligious retreat (original); house (since the 19th century)
AddressThe Groves
CH1 1SD
Town or cityChester
CountryEngland
Coordinates53°11′18″N 2°53′07″W / 53.1884°N 2.8852°W / 53.1884; -2.8852
Completed1363 (1363)[1]
Renovated
  • 19th century
  • 1897
  • c. 1970
Technical details
MaterialSandstone and slate
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameThe Hermitage
Designated28 July 1955
Reference no.1375947[1]

The Anchorite's Cell (or Hermitage) is a small building overlooking The Groves, Chester, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ409660). It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[1]

History

The structure was built in 1363 as a religious retreat for a monk or a hermit. It belonged to the nearby St John the Baptist's Church until the Reformation. During the 19th century the building was restored and converted into a house. In 1897 the porch of St Martin's Church, which was being demolished, was moved here and made into a north entrance. The building was refurbished in about 1970 as a cottage.[2]

Architecture

Standing on a sandstone outcrop that forms a plinth, the building is constructed in coursed sandstone, and has a grey slate roof. It is in two storeys with the entrance on the north side. The porch has a segmental arch flanked by colonettes with trefoils in the spandrels, and a triple lancet window on the right side. To the right of the porch is a two-light mullioned casement window, and a projecting stone chimney. In the upper storey, above the porch, is a panel containing a triple lancet window. To the right of this is another lancet window and the voussoirs of a blocked arch. In the east end of the building is a segmental-arched window in the ground floor, a three-light mullioned window with intersecting tracery in the upper floor, and a coped gable. At the west end is a high-level segmental-arched window in the ground floor, a buttress at the southwest corner, and a coped gable with a gabled finial. There are more lancet windows in the south side.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England, "The Hermitage, Chester (1375947)", National Heritage List for England, archived from the original on 31 May 2023, retrieved 2 July 2013
  2. ↑ Langtree, Stephen; Comyns, Alan, eds. (2001), 2000 Years of Building: Chester's Architectural Legacy, Chester: Chester Civic Trust, p. 80, ISBN 0-9540152-0-7
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