The Hermitage

The Hermitage is a hermitage built in 1386 by Adam de Laythorpe and his son Robert. It is carved out of carboniferous sandstone and is located below ground beneath what is now Pontefract General Infirmary. The structure consists of two chambers that are side by side but at different levels. The lower chamber leads to a short passage that connects to a spiral staircase descending vertically to a well.

The western chamber, known as the Oratory, is believed to be the later of the two. It features a fireplace with a rock-hewn flue, a low stool, a bench, and a bed shelf. In the center stands a large 19th-century brick pier. Access to this chamber is through a pointed-arched doorway, likely reused from the nearby Priory of St Richard, which was founded in 1256.

The eastern chamber is accessed via an original basket-arched doorway that is rebated for a door and has bolt-holes. A barrel-vaulted passage leads from this chamber to the staircase, which has 72 steps and shows clear pick and hammer chisel marks. There are four candle niches within this area. Near the bottom of the staircase is a bas-relief figure of Death, depicted as a skeleton with a prominent ribcage and foreshortened legs, holding a spear. There is also mention of a third chamber, which is no longer visible, said to have the letters "DITIS" carved on the lintel. At the bottom of the staircase is a basin filled with water, representing the water-table.

Outside the doorway, there are late 15th-century window heads, likely from the Priory Church of St Richard. In front of the Hermitage, three 19th-century Tudor-arched brick doorways can be found. The security devices around the well are believed to have been intended to prevent the holy water from being taken for witchcraft. Pontefract has historical records of a hermit from the early 13th century, and this tradition appears to have continued for about three centuries.