Charterhouse tour
Medieval London is alive and well
Everything changes but nothing changes. How true this is for this particular piece ancient London because it was created as an almshouse many years ago and today does exactly the same thing. I went on a Saturday afternoon tour of this wonderful piece of City history and was not disappointed.
So heres the thumbnail background:
Despite extensive World War II damage this intriguing survivor from the medieval monastery period. The site where the Charterhouse stands was acquired in the 1350's as a burial ground for the victims of the Black Death. A Carthusian Monastery was established here in 1371 by Sir Walter de Mauny, one of King Edward III’s senior advisers. A prior and twenty-four monks were accommodated in two-storey houses arranged round a characteristically large cloister, and the church, built alongside the burial ground, became the priory church. In 1535, the monks refused to conform to Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy and some were executed at Tyburn. The monastery was suppressed and passed to the Crown and it was eventually turned into a Tudor mansion.
In 1611 Thomas Sutton bought the mansion and used it and his wealth to endow a charitable foundation to educate boys and care for elderly men, known as ‘Brothers’. It's pupils include John Wesley (founder of the Methodist Church) and the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray. The school moved to Godalming, Surrey, in 1872, but today, Charterhouse still houses elderly men in the almshouse's.
The tour was conducted by one of the brothers, Phillip Bacon, a knowledgable inhabitant of Charterhouse who was happy to field a host of inane questioning - many from myself. The site is live history, and still performs its original function which is that of giving 'alms' to single men of a certain age and disposition and well worth a visit. There was plenty of historical fact provided by hosts and a visitor will come away with a rich compendium of detail that will keep the amateur history buff occupied for hours. We were fortunate to visit on a beautiful winter's afternoon and were able to make the most most of our outdoor moments in mid afternoon sunshine. We were part of a large, eclectic group - many of whom were single culture vultures and I would heartily recommend a visit to Charterhouse.
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