The Hermitage, Derbyshire

The Hermitage is a Scheduled Ancient Monument near Dale Abbey in the county of Derbyshire. Around 1130, a baker in Derby called Cornelius had a dream, in which the Virgin Mary (the mother of Jesus) told him to go to Depedale (the old name for this place) and worship God. The baker responded to this call and came here. He dug the cave in the hillside and lived in it for about 20 years.

The Hermitage appears to have been divided into two parts. The western (nearer) end was probably a chapel, with a niche for a cross and some candles, and the eastern (further) end was the Hermit's living quarters. Outside, high in the rock face, are some square holes, suggesting there was once a lean-to-shelter, possibly for a few animals, firewood etc. He obtained water from Hermit's Well, situated near the churchyard.

Around 1150 AD the Hermit moved down the hill and built an oratory (small private chapel) with living accommodation on the site of Dale Abbey Church.

Even if medieval bakers truly enjoyed the prestige of Latin names in the 1100s and felt the need to forsake the dirty, unjust and violent towns of England, I greatly doubt that Mary played any role in it. Having legions of angels ('messengers', literally) and occasionally appearing Himself in person, the idea that the Lord Jesus Christ would send his own, sin-forgiven mother on such errands is bizarre. Had Cornelius truly been a man of God, he might have continued his baking and been of service to those who could not bake for themselves. Mary was a woman of God, but she is not the Queen of Heaven or Christ's Co-Redemptrix. Such claims are darker than the old cave in Derbyshire. 

And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Isaiah 2:19