Last Tuesday, having walked from Cannon Street, after a slight detour the other side of Smithfield Market we finally found our way to The Charterhouse, a little corner (7 acres) of tranquillity in the heart of the city. Dating from the Black Death in the 1380s the buildings have variously been a monastery, a private residence, a school (Charterhouse school was founded here in 1611 before moving to its present Godalming site in the late 19th century) and Alms houses.
We were guided around the historical but still vibrant site by one of the brothers, as the residents of the community of 80 are known. Brothers can also be women, as was our knowledgeable guide – an interesting take on today’s modern approach to gender descriptions! The Charterhouse can now be considered a most desirable retirement home (McCarthy and Stone eat your hearts out), currently with 4 vacancies. Yes, there was a queue for the application forms from Probus members as we left.
After the tour we had a pleasant lunch in the appropriately named Butcher’s Hook and Cleaver pub just next to the meat market in West Smithfield before returning home.
