James Lucas 1813 - 1874 was the Hermit of Redcoats after whom the pub is named.

He was the eldest son of a wealthy merchant family. His disturbed childhood was characterised by his running away from several schools to which he had been sent. His father died in 1833 and James inherited the family home, nearby Elmwood House, where he continued to live with his mother.

James became increasingly eccentric and after the death of his mother in 1849 he became a total recluse, dressed only in a blanket and living in the kitchen surrounded by piles of coal ash. It is said that he subsisted on bread, cheese and red herrings, drinking milk with gin in it.

It is well documented that Charles Dickens based the character Mopes in the story Tom Tiddler's Ground upon James Lucas.

Click on the links below for more information on this fascinating character.

An article published in The New York Times on Jan 24, 1875 JAMES LUCAS (NYT)

Research by the Stevenage Museum Stevenage's Hermit

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