The story of the Charterhouse dates to medieval times, it was an important site during the turbulent Tudor period before it became a pioneering charity in 1611.

The history of the Charterhouse dates to the bubonic plague pandemic of 1348, when land which is now Charterhouse Square was leased by Sir Walter Manny to be used as an emergency cemetery to bury victims of the disease. The terrible impact of the plague, also known the “great pestilence” or the “black death”, meant that around 60% of the population of London died in a very short space of time. Sir Walter Manny, a Baron and former soldier who came to the court of Edward III from Hainault now in France, paid for the lease of land as a mass burial site and later the building of a Chapel nearby to pray for their souls.

After the plague had subsided the Bishop of London Michael Northburgh, had the idea of founding a Carthusian monastery, known as a Charterhouse, having been impressed by one he visited in Paris. Sir Walter Manny was also involved in sponsoring this new monastery, and after Northburgh’s death he went on to found what became the impressive and well-respected London Charterhouse in 1371, on land adjacent to the emergency cemetery.

The monastery thrived for many years, but as a result of Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy and the subsequent dissolution of the monasteries the Charterhouse was disbanded. Prior John Haughton and the monks, lay brothers and hermits who refused to support the Act were martyred between 1535 – 1537, and the Charterhouse was  confiscated by the Crown.  For a while afterwards it was used as a store, including for the King’s tents and hunting nets, and lodgings.

Sir Edward North, Treasurer of the Court of Augmentations created by the King to deal with the confiscated estates, became the new owner of the Charterhouse in 1545. He began building a grand Tudor mansion using and adapting the buildings of the former monastery. The mansion passed through the ownership of several wealthy noblemen most notably Thomas Howard, the 4^th Duke of Norfolk. Amongst the many elite guests entertained during this period were Elizabeth I, who stayed just before her coronation in 1558 and met her first Privy Council in the Great Chamber, and James I (James VI of Scotland) who also stayed prior to his coronation and created 130 new knights also in the Great Chamber.

In 1611, Thomas Sutton bought the Charterhouse and proceeded to establish the charity that still bears his name today. Born in Lincolnshire, Sutton attended Cambridge University and held the post of Master of the Ordnance in the North for much of his life. He gained further wealth through leasing land he owned for coal mining, a fortuitous marriage, and later in his life becoming one of the chief money lenders to the aristocracy. Sutton wished to use the Charterhouse to set up a ‘hospital’ (or almshouse as we would now call it) for up to 80 “poor Brothers”, and a school for 40 “poor boys”.

Unfortunately Sutton died before he could see his legacy completed, but the 16 Governors of the new charity oversaw the work to convert the site and formally established the charity through an act of Parliament; The Charterhouse Act of 1627. Initially known as the Foundation of King James’s hospital in Charterhouse, Middlesex, it was the wealthiest charity in Europe in its day. James I retained his connection with the Charterhouse, becoming the first Royal Governor, establishing a tradition that remains today. Other renowned historic Governors include Francis Bacon, Lord St Alban, George Villers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, Oliver Cromwell and Prime Minsters including Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Robert Peel and William Gladstone.

The school grew and evolved, and alumni include William Makepeace Thackeray and John Wesley. However it eventually left the site and moved to Godalming in Surrey in 1872, becoming the Charterhouse school known today. Meanwhile the almshouse remained on the site and while our residents, who continue to be known as Brothers although are no longer exclusively men, still eat communally in the Great Hall as they would have done in the 17^th century much has changed in the intervening years.

During the Second World War the Brothers were evacuated to interval houses in Godalming, and remained there until the Charterhouse was reopened in 1951. A large public air raid shelter for up to 800 people was built by what was then Finsbury Council in Preacher’s Court, and the courtyard gardens were used for growing vegetables as part of the war effort. Unfortunately the Charterhouse suffered a direct hit by an incendiary device during the Blitz in May 1941, and its historic buildings and interiors were badly damaged.

After the war, architects John Seely and Paul Paget  were commissioned to conserve and restore the buildings in a major project that ran from 1945 to 1959. Archaeological investigations that were carried out as part of this work led to discoveries including the grave of Sir Walter Manny, which can now be seen in the Chapel Courtyard.  Seely and Paget’s sympathetic restoration scheme importantly included moving the Brothers from their rooms in Pensioner’s Court to the live in the Tudor mansion for the first time. This placed the Brothers at the heart of the Charterhouse itself, signalling an important step in the modernisation of Sutton’s charity and the care for it’s beneficiaries.

Today our residents, or Brothers of the Charterhouse, are still at the heart of our community and we work to deliver the spirit of Sutton’s charity through provision of housing on our historic site and supporting independent living for our residents. We also invite visitors to discover more about our fascinating story and heritage.