Samuel Matthews (died 1802) better known as the

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

Hermit was an 18th-century

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, famous for his unresolved 1802 murder. Samuel matthews 1803

Biography

Matthews was born in south

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

about 1733, and came to

in 1772, being employed as a gardener. He was described as having led a happy domestic life - living with his wife and four children. Upon the death of his wife in about 1775, he is said to have entered a deep melancholy and have withdrawn from civilization. He solicited and obtained permission from the master and Wardens of Dulwich college to dig cave in

Dulwich Wood Dulwich Wood, together with the adjacent Sydenham Hill Wood, is the largest extant part of the ancient Great North Wood in the London Borough of Southwark.

and erect a hut over it. He went on to live 23 years at the dwelling. He was visited regularly by locals who dubbed him as the ''Wild Man of the Wood'' and described him as quiet, friendly and learned man - quite apart from his savage and dirty surroundings. He was often annoyed by mischievous boys and fellows who would steal provisions and throw stones at him. At around 1798, he was beaten by some local

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

boys, who broke him arm and robbed him of 12 shillings. While under cure, he became disgusted with his old habitation, and left to spend a year and a half with his son in Wales. Once he had recovered, he felt an urge to return to Dulwich and once again, obtained permission to build a new hut and cave - the former having been destroyed by

Gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

. On an unknown day in December 1802,url=https://www.criminalhistorian.com/12-days-of-criminal-christmas-the-murder-of-the-norwood-hermit/ five boys, who at Christmas time, always made a tradition of visiting him, came across the mangled corpse of Matthews near his cave. He had been beaten to death. " ewas covered with fern and under his arm was an oaken branch about six or seven feet long, which it is supposed the villains put into the cave in order to hook him out…it appears likely the hook had been hitched into his mouth, there being a hole of the size of it quite through the cheek" according to the local newspaper report. Matthews had been seen the previous night by the local butcher, where he had paid off a small debt. Nearby gypsies were tried as suspects, but none were convicted, leading to the jury's verdict being "wilful murder, by person or persons unknown".

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{{reflist 1802 deaths English hermits People murdered in London 18th-century British people