Did hermits really live in caves?

Throughout history, hermits have lived in caves. Uncover the fascinating stories of 6 cave-dwelling recluses.



Agostini's life was driven by faith and solitude. He claims to have begun "to incline toward a solitary life" at the tender age of five. He never joined a parish or monastery, always beating his own path.

His story ends in 1869 when he was killed. We don't know why he was attacked, or by whom, but records show that he died with his crucifix in his hand.

3. Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder

If you've heard of Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder, it's probably as the Christian ascetic who lived on top of a pillar. But he also spent part of his worshipful life in a cave.

Simeon was born around 390 AD. He entered a monastery as a teenager. However, his pursuit of abstinence was so fanatical that he was expelled by his fellow monks.

He moved from the monastery to a cave. But his deeply-held wish for solitude was frustrated by visitors asking him for counsel or healing.

Sick of the spotlight, Simeon took his devotions up a pillar near Aleppo in modern-day Syria. His years atop the pillar gave the name "stylite" to any subsequent pillar-saint. 

4. John Sparkes (or Sparke)

Unlike our hermits so far, we know almost nothing about John Sparkes. Nevertheless, his story is a curious slice of mediaeval history.

In Bristol, there's a Quaker burial ground opposite St Mary Redcliffe Church. Nearby, there's a small cave dug into the sandstone of Redliffe Hill.

Eagle-eyed visitors will see a plaque that tells a fascinating tale. In 1346, Thomas Lord Berkeley installed John Sparkes there. His job? To pray for Berkeley and his family.

Berkeley was in search of redemption, having been tried as an accessory to the murder of King Edward II.

The cave was used as a hermitage after Sparkes's death, all the way up to the 17th century.

His story is not unlike that of garden hermits or ornamental hermits. These were people encouraged to live alone on the estates of wealthy landowners. Francis of Paola, for instance, lived in a cave on his father's estate back in the 15th century.

4. Timon of Athens

Timon of Athens was the Victor Meldrew of his day. He was a citizen of Athens in the fourth century BC with a legendary contempt for humanity.

In Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens, he starts off as a wealthy and generous gentleman – perhaps a little too generous. He's surrounded by yes-men who sponge off him until he's broke.

Filled with rage, he denounces not only his so-called friends but also mankind in general, retreating to a cave in the wilderness. "Be abhorr'd," he rails, "all feasts, societies, and throngs of men!"

There, he lives off roots, discovers a treasure trove, subsidises a rebel army and dies in the wilderness – not quite the life of quiet isolation he was hoping for.

5. Geoff Workman

In 1963, Yorkshireman Geoff Workman broke the world record for time spent in total isolation underground – and he did it right here at Stump Cross Caverns.

First question: why?

According to Geoff, his subterranean sojourn was scientific research. He wanted to learn more about the caves, as well as the effects of isolation on the human mind and body.

A newsreel from the time, however, suggests that his stint as a hermit was connected to the Cold War. At that time, the possibility of nuclear war was on everyone's minds. Could it be, as the newsreel says, that Geoff "wanted to prove that if we had to go into caves in a nuclear war, all we need to do is wrap up warm and take down a lot of food"?

Whatever his reasons, Geoff's record stayed unbroken until the Spanish athlete Beatriz Flamini spent 500 days in a cave near Granada, Spain.

When her team came to collect her, Flamini is reported to have said, "Already? Surely not."

Are you looking for family cave adventures in the UK? Stump Cross Caverns is an ancient cave network buried deep underneath the Yorkshire Dales. You won't find any hermits here – but you will find prehistoric secrets, amazing rock formations and lots of things to see and do. Book your tickets online to unlock exclusive discounts.