London’s Newest Free Museum: Charterhouse – Former Monastery in the City of London Opening to the Public in December

London is getting a brand new museum in a place that is centuries old. Located in the heart of the City of London, Charterhouse is a former monastery that was turned into an alms house.

Here are some more details on the history:

Hidden away in the heart of Smithfields is an unknown tourist gem, which covers 660 climactic years of London history, including plague pits, a dissolved Carthusian monastery, a Tudor mansion which hosted Elizabeth I, a school with alumni including John Wesley, Thackeray and Robert Baden Powell; and finally an almshouse for “decrepit” men. Although they wouldn’t appreciate that original description, it is still home to some 40 ‘Brothers’, who are now opening up their fascinating home, rich in history, architectural rarity and art, to the public; with a museum opening, curated by and in partnership with the Museum of London, in December 2016.

The museum charts seven phases in the history of the buildings through rare artefacts, unique and historically important documents and artworks, including a water map illustrating how the monks tapped water from Sadler’s Wells to ingeniously supply each cell with running water in 1431; plus the odd plague pit skeleton and graffitied original school desk! It will open with an accompanying dedicated Learning Centre, finally revealing the treasures of Charterhouse – educational, historic and artistic – to the public. Entrance to the museum will be free, with the option of an additional paid tour of the buildings; and is set to become a must-visit on London’s cultural tourism trail.

The museum, cafe and Learning Centre will be accessed through Charterhouse Square, the site of a medieval plague pit. The square has been re-designed, inspired by its 18^th century layout, by Todd Longstaffe-Cowan (author of The London Square (Yale 2012) and Gardens Adviser to Historic Royal Palaces. The reconfigured Square will lead visitors to the new public entrance to the Charterhouse designed by Eric Parry Architects.

Sounds fascinating!

The museum will be opening to the general public in Early December 2016 and admission will be free. The date hasn’t been finalized. They recommend checking their website for the latest updates: Charterhouse Website.

Here’s a gallery of the place to give you an idea of what there will be to see:

We will definitely be checking this out on our next trip to London in February 2017.

Here’s more detailed history on the place from their official press release – fascinating read!

History of the Charterhouse

The site upon which Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse stands was acquired in the middle of the fourteenth century as a burial ground for the victims of the Black Death. Later a Carthusian Monastery was established here in 1371 by Sir Walter de Manny, one of Edward III’s senior advisers. In 1535, the monks refused to conform to Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy and some became proto-martyrs of the Reformation. The monastery was suppressed and passed to the Crown. Subsequently it was granted to Lord North, who constructed a fine Tudor mansion which was later sold to the fourth Duke of Norfolk. On 23 November 1558 (the day of her accession to the throne, Elizabeth I arrived at Charterhouse from Hatfield House).

The site upon which Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse stands was acquired in the middle of the fourteenth century as a burial ground for the victims of the Black Death. Later a Carthusian Monastery was established here in 1371 by Sir Walter de Manny, one of Edward III’s senior advisers. In 1535, the monks refused to conform to Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy and some became proto-martyrs of the Reformation. The monastery was suppressed and passed to the Crown. Subsequently it was granted to Lord North, who constructed a fine Tudor mansion which was later sold to the fourth Duke of Norfolk. On 23 November 1558 (the day of her accession to the throne, Elizabeth I arrived at Charterhouse from Hatfield House).

In 1611 Norfolk’s son, Thomas Howard, first Earl of Suffolk, sold the mansion to Thomas Sutton, building Audley End in Essex with the proceeds. Sutton used much of his wealth to endow a charitable foundation to educate boys and care for elderly men, known as ‘Brothers’. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, was a pupil at the school in Charterhouse as was William Makepeace Thackeray, in the early nineteenth century. The school was moved to Godalming, Surrey, in 1872, when Robert Baden-Powell was a pupil.

Brothers  have included soldier of fortune, musician and composer Captain Tobias Hume, literary figures from William Thomas Moncrieff to prolific dramatist John Morton Maddison, best remembered for ‘Box and Cox’ and more recently writer Simon Raven.

Between 1872 and 1933, Merchant Taylors’ School occupied the site to the east. This area later became The Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital and is now occupied by Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London.

Since James I became one of the first Governors of the Charity, the Charterhouse has always enjoyed Royal Governors, except during the Interregnum when Governors who were unwilling to support the parliamentary cause were replaced (and Cromwell himself was appointed to the governing body). Today Her Majesty the Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales are all Royal Governors. Other prominent governors have included: John Donne, Thomas Lord Fairfax, Lord Cromwell, Robert Walpole, William Pitt, Robert Peel, the Duke of Wellington, Viscount Palmerston, William Gladstone, Stanley Baldwin, the Marquess of Salisbury and Sir William Rees-Mogg.

Author: Jonathan Thomas

Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile who launched Anglotopia.net in 2007 to channel his passion for Britain. Londontopia is its sister publication dedicated to everything London.