Roger Crab
The Hermit of Ickenham was born in Buckinghamshire around 1621.
As a young man, he became a strict vegetarian.
He fought for Parliament in the Civil War, suffering a severe head wound. After the war, he opened a haberdashery in Chesham. Following a mystical experience, he sold his shop and gave all his money to the poor.
Moving to Ickenham, he began an ascetic life, dressing in sack cloth and eating vegetables, dock leaves and grass. He said he could live on 3 farthings a week.
Crab was an astrologer and prophet. His unorthodox views led the vicar of Uxbridge to denounce him as a witch. He spent some time in Clerkenwell gaol but continued on his maverick path.
He died in Bethnal Green in 1680 and was buried at Stepney.