King Harold At Chester
Did Harold survive the Battle of Hastings and end his days as a hermit at Chester? Most unlikely!
A small building on top of a sandstone outcrop in Chester (Cheshire, England) has an interesting — if unlikely — legend attached to it. This is known as the “Anchorite’s Cell” or “The Hermitage”, and it has that name because it was once occupied by reclusive monks who lived there cut off from the outside world so that they could devote their lives entirely to prayer.
The building seen today probably dates from the mid-14th century, although there is no definite information about this. It is, however, certain that if there was an anchorite cell here any earlier than this, it could not have been the current building.
There is a legend that the cell was occupied in the 11th century by a very well-known person. This was the former King Harold II, whom history relates lost his life at the Battle of Hastings, being replaced on the throne of England by William the Conqueror who then reigned, from 1066 to 1087, as King William I. Tradition has it that Harold died after being struck in the eye by an arrow that then pierced his brain, although it has also been suggested that this idea only came about due to a misinterpretation of the Bayeux Tapestry.
