The Charterhouse suffered extensive damage during the Blitz of May 1941. The air raid on the night of May 10-11 left much of Master’s Court, Washhouse Court, the Great Staircase, the Great Hall and the Great Chamber in ruins. After the ravages of war, the architectural firm Seely & Paget were commissioned to begin the repair and restoration work. How did Seely & Paget go about their work at the site, and how did they deal with the complex historical fabric in restoring the site? These were the central questions to be investigated during our internship at the Charterhouse.

Fortunately, Seely & Paget left to posterity their original diaries and scrapbooks. The diary entries help to paint a fuller picture of their architectural work at the Charterhouse. During our internship, our task was to consult the diaries and scrapbooks, record all references to the site and begin to paint the picture of their restoration work. Attempting to establish the first point of contact, the first mention of the Charterhouse is in 1945, when with the war almost over, the site could prioritise repair and restoration. Between January and March, meetings are held which indicate the wheels are set in motion. On Tuesday 24 April 1945, a diary entry refers to work at the Charterhouse, and on Monday 30 April 1945 bricklayers are on site. A handful of further 1945 references are made in connection with Charterhouse staff gatherings, including a meeting in July to discuss plans for the site’s restoration.

The 1955 diary entries set in relief the scale of Seely & Paget’s collaborative network. Afternoon tea with the British glass engraver and poet Lawrence Whistler (1912-2000) is entered in the diary on 29 January. The sculptor and medallist Cecil Thomas (1885-1976) visits the Charterhouse in relation to Thomas Sutton’s tomb on 12 October. The entries in this year are dominated by Charterhouse activity. Of chief interest is the firm J.L. Green and Vardy, which is mentioned on 24 March and 31 October. In the second instance, the diary records that Seely is to pick up the Master of the Charterhouse and take him to J.L. Green & Vardy’s workshop in Islington. Located at 79 Essex Street, Islington, Green & Vardy’s was approximately one mile from the Charterhouse. Was this a meeting to discuss new furnishings for the Charterhouse, to be produced by Green and Vardy?

Seely & Paget’s original diaries and scrapbooks open up new and exciting questions that promise to fill substantial gaps in the story of their repair and restoration work. One of the recurring themes is collaboration: the diaries position them centrally within an intricate network of agents committed to the site’s restoration. The diaries concisely record individual names and firms, but do not elaborate. They will thus need to be placed in dialogue with other material witnesses in building the picture. They preserve a rich storehouse of information, and have a crucial role to play in the emerging picture of Seely and Paget’s work at the Charterhouse. It will be exciting to follow the story as it develops.

Christopher Fell

Christopher completed a micro-internship with the Oxford University Heritage Network and the Charterhouse. He was one of two micro-interns exploring archival materials relating to the interwar architects John Seely and Paul Paget, and their restoration of the site. For the micro-internship, Christopher worked with fellow micro-intern, Matthew Sutton, an undergraduate student in the Classics Faculty, to produce a wider report on Seely & Paget’s works at the Charterhouse in London, as recorded in their scrapbooks and diaries. Christopher has recently completed a DPhil in English at Hertford College. 

Photo by Mark Mercer