The Hermit of Ashton Heath
Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan 1800s
“All this led to a three-foot-high wooden hut, dug out of the ground and roofed with flags, stones and sack cloths. The hut was home to the Hermit of Ashton Heath.” - Stat Magazine
Jonas John Kilshaw, born 1848, lived a modest life outside of society for around ten years. He would wash himself in the rivers, cut his hair with borrowed scissors, earn a few pennies by melting down discarded tin cans into solder. A very resourceful man, indeed. So how did he earn the mythical status of ‘hermit’, and become a local legend in Ashton-in-Makerfield?
One Sunday in late winter, just after he had turned 58, hundreds of spectators travelled to see the Hermit with their own eyes… and Jonas knew what he had to do. A carefully crafted act…
Jonas John Kilshaw, Ashton Heath, 11 December 1905 sourced from Stat Magazine
Once Jonas realised quite the crowd had gathered outside of his handmade shack, he slunk out of the door, shoulders humped, his face obscured and his hands upturned. He slowly, leaning into the act, hobbled towards the closest spectator and played up the limping and shuffling. Sure enough, shocked by the Hermit’s appearance and clear suffering, one-by-one each member of the crowd pressed coins into his hands.
Jonas began chanting, in a gruff voice, ‘Copper up! Copper up for Jonas the Gypsy King!’.
This event was recorded in the Wigan Examiner, and described Jonas as having ‘taken advantage of the crowd which had collected in the vicinity of his hut’ as he ‘begged alms from them’. Whilst some argued that Jonas couldn’t use his poverty in such an exploitative way, others defended him stating he was the Hermit of Ashton Heath. What was he supposed to do?
Whilst hermits are usually those who live apart from society for religious reasons (many religious figures have taken themselves off to live as hermits in caves throughout our history), no one could say for sure this is why Jonas decided to live off-grid.
Jonas living as a hermit in Ashton-in-Makerfield seemed to suit the locals just fine, as the tales of mythical proportions, sheer fascination and awe of the Hermit of Ashton Heath kept them entertained for years.
On the fated Sunday in which Jonas decided to utilise his Hermit status, unfortunately a plain clothed police officer was in attendance. He arrested Jonas for begging and was sentenced to 7 days imprisonment and hard labour.
