In Regency Life:
Hermits were contracted to live on estates for a period of time - usually seven years - where they would act as a curiosity and status symbol for the host. Living in a small hermitage on the estate, they would be expected to feed themselves with game and forage. Mr Helm has been a hermit before, and after fulfilling the contractual obligations on his last estate, he placed an advertisement in the London Morning Chronicle. The advert was answered by the trustees of Kentchurch as a fitting addition to the estate.
In Real Life:
Zebedee, did an arts foundation course at Camberwell and then went to Leeds University to do Fine Art. He quickly realised it was not the degree for him and decided to leave. He has become somewhat expert at living in hermit-like situations. He took a job in Norfolk where he was asked to make a giant chess set, which he did while living in a shed in the garden. Since then in order to save money, he rents a house just for the spring and the winter and spends the summer in a Native American tepee style tent. He is a successful artist and has managed to live from selling his work.
Interview: Find out what Zebedee really thought of Regency House. |
