STRANGE BUT TRUE

The hermit's hoard

It has never been determined exactly why people shun society and choose the life of a recluse but it is usually related to past experience of people and an acute desire to be alone. Such a course of action is less likely in our welfare society when neighbours, council officials or the police feel it their duty to intrude if someone has not been seen for a while and so anyone who shuts themselves away can now expect a knock on the door after a few days to ensure that all is well.

There are exceptions such as the case of Walter Samaszko, aged 69, who was found dead at his home in Carson City, Nevada, USA, last September. He had been dead for at least a month when neighbours raised the alarm and the house was found to be crammed with stuff that he had collected over the previous forty years with only enough room to crawl from room to room. But the surprise was that although Mr Samaszko only had £120 in the bank, the hoard included a treasure trove of gold bars with rolls of $20 bills and a mass of collectable coins worth a total of $7 million. Such is the stuff of fiction.

We have had a similar case in Bourne although it happened over two centuries ago and our recluse was not quite so rich although in view of the poverty of the time, the wonderment at this happening in such a small town must have been just as great.

James Quanborough worked as Collector of Tolls in Bourne during the late 18th century, his job being to collect the fees paid by stallholders at the weekly market and hand them over to the Lord of the Manor who held the market rights, then the Marquess of Exeter.

During that time, he had no other support than on market days, filching and picking up potatoes, carrots, cabbage and beans from the stalls which he took home and boiled together with a handful of grain, and this was his existence for forty years. In September 1790, he was found dead in bed after neighbours raised the alarm and broke into his cottage.

He was 102 years old and the Stamford Mercury reported on 1st October 1790 that he was in a terrible state, not having shaved for fourteen years and for the previous seven years he had not even been out of his room. Yet a search of the house found more than £300 hidden in different places, cash that would today be worth almost £40,000. James Quanborough was therefore wealthy but whether he died a happy man is a matter of conjecture.

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