Harry Hallowes

Harry Hallowes, known as Harry the Hermit, was an Irishman who became famous for living on Hampstead Heath.

He was born in County Sligo around 1936 and moved to London in the 1950s. He was evicted from his council flat in Highgate in 1987 and then set up a makeshift camp in a corner of Hampstead Heath near Athlone House, supporting himself by doing odd jobs for locals such as the director Terry Gilliam. When property developers tried to evict him, he successfully claimed squatter's rights to the land, having lived there for over twelve years. He was awarded a deed to the half-acre plot of land in 2007 which was then worth over £2 million. He died in February, 2016.

In 2017, a romantic comedy called Hampstead was based on this person. In this, actor Brendan Gleeson played the part of a hermit on Hampstead Heath, who is befriended by an American widow played by Diane Keaton.

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