Hermitage, Isle of Wight

Historical Description

Hermitage, a seat in the Isle of Wight, under St Catherine's Down, ll mile NNW of Niton. It was built by Michael Hoy, a Eussian merchant. A Roman Doric column 72 feet high, surmounted by a ball, is on the down above it, bears the name of Hoy's Pillar or the Alexandrian Pillar, was erected by Hoy to commemorate the visit of the Emperor Alexander of Eussia to England in 1814, and forms a conspicuous object in an extensive landscape. 54*