Lost buildings of Roundhay - The Hermitage

The Hermitage was constructed some time in the early 1800s when Roundhay Park was still the private estate of the Nicholson family. Like the nearby castle folly the Hermitage was intended to break up the landscape and provide some visual interest while also evoking romantic notions of times past. 

 The Hermitage was modelled as a small cottage on the edge of the lake in a rustic style - supposedly the dwelling place of the mysterious Hermit who had retreated there after turning his back on the world. Inside some items of furniture were provided and stained glass windows were placed either side of the door.  

 It seems that the Hermitage was a popular attraction when the park first opened to the public and the majority of people treated it well, however after a relatively short while it became the target of some minor acts of vandalism and eventually, over time, fell into disrepair, subsequently being removed. Only a few small signs of the spot where it once stood remain today..

 An interesting description of the interior of The Hermitage, when it was in it’s prime, comes from Kirby’s Descriptive Guide to Roundhay Park which was published in 1872, around the time the park opened to the public:

“..Pursuing the pathway, we soon reach The Hermitage, which we approach under the shadow of towering trees; the Hermitage itself being also surrounded by, and embowered in trees; before it stretches the lake, and the path leading to the entrance is a few feet above the water. This retired cot amid the trees is a quiet place, and the interior agrees well with the whole situation – the projecting roof forming a kind of piazza, casts a sombre hue over all within. The furniture consists of a small table and a few rustic chairs, and a small fireplace opposite the entrance gives the whole snug yet solitary aspect. The sides are ornamented by a strange device of hazel rods, bent into arches of the pointed or Gothic form, except over the fireplace, where the sweep being of larger dimensions the arch is circular; and these are filled up by rods of the same order, varying in length according to circumstances, and placed in horizontal and perpendicular rows, which alternate to complete the embellishment of the walls.

 Here one may sit and look out upon the lake in the summer calm while the Zephyr scarce whispers in the leafy temple above; and here one may listen to the wintery surges of the angry storm, while the bosom of the lake is fretted into the furrows, and the foliage of the trees is gone, save what is raised in rustling eddies from the pathway by the wild and whistling winds. One either side of the entrance is a small stained glass window, each embellished with a Grecian figure and emblems, forming a kind of border around the principal attractions of a crystal monitor; for written on the glass, with the point of a diamond, are two pieces of Poetry, which we have taken the liberty to transcribe.

 On the left, looking out upon the lake, is the following:

 THE HERMITS BEQUEST.

 When lingering in this lov’d retreat.
 Which saw my wasting day, 

 With silent step and rev’rence meet 
 Thou’st trod the lonely way.

 Would’st thou enquire what years have taught,
 And all my painful watchings brought, 
 Ask thy own heart, the noblest teacher’s there.
 Or hear the truths my latest lips declare.

 Tis not the blaze of festive halls,
  The gay and giddy throng,
 The shout of mirth that shakes the walls,
  The feast, the dance, the song.
 That Happiness can give:- An no;
  The gay vest covers hearts of woe,
 And every pang that grief, that fear, can feel,
  May rend the breast, tho’ joyous smiles conceal. 
 
 The hermit’s cell a heart may hide,
  By every passion torn, Where grief or discontent abide,
 We but retire to mourn. 
  Such still retreat does but bestow 
 Leisure for inward griefs to grow ; 
  Deem not the hermitage secure from ill - 
 Man thou may’st shun, man’s woes pursue thee still 

 And you who ‘mid the busy crowd 
  Unceasing cares confine, 
 Enjoy retirement when allow’d, 
  Nor when denied repine. 
 
 Still hold amid the world’s loud strife 
  The dull realities of life ; 
 Good will to all, a sense of pardon'd sin, 

  These make, and these alone, a hermitage within. 

 We turn now to the window on the right, looking out upon the lake, from which we copy the following:— 

 Hail ! Stranger, welcome to this cot. 
 Whoe'er thou art, and whate'er thy lot, 
 That seeks this calm retreat; 
 Away from noisy din and strife,
 Away from all the ills of life,
   Thou'lt find a peaceful seat.

 Oft by this glassy surface have I stood, 
 Cheer’d by the warblers in the neighbouring wood, 
   At noon or parting day ; 
 Reflection in this mirror bright 
 Hath sooth’d my mind to calm delight,
   And press’d me here to stay. 

 But see, the gathering tempest rise, 
 O’er hill and valley quick it flies, 
  Its threats approach with ire ; 
How soon this mirror ’s changed its face, 
 Wave after wave each other chase, 
   And warns us to retire.

 Emblem of life whose early morn 
 Is oft by prosperous gales upborne, 
   Its noon with clouds is hidden ; 
 Yet may our evening sun set bright, 
 Blest by that pure effulgent light,

   Which emanates from heaven...” 

 With the mind deeply impressed by the moral of what we have read, we leave the Hermitage and ascend to the left, under chestnut, oak, larch, and other trees, having a valley on the right, while the pathway is skirted by rhododendrons, holly, lilac, and other shrubs and plants...”