The Polytechnic Lodge

The Chapel is approached through Charterhouse Square, which was purchased in the 1340s as a burial place for victims of the Plague.

Visitors using the entrance to the Charterhouse Museum, which was opened by the Queen in 2017, will see that the chapel is attached to the main building of the almshouse, a manor house built in the 1540s using the materials from the monastery, which was suppressed in 1538. The most striking external feature of the chapel is the squat tower, which dates from the 14th century.

Inside, access to the chapel is through a vaulted chamber from the last phase of the Carthusians’ building, in 1521. The screen designed by Blore in the 1840s, which divides this space from the south nave has some curious little carved Indian heads on it.

The south nave occupies the footprint of the monks’ Chapter House. It was here that the last Prior, John Houghton, declared his intention to refuse to accede to the Act of Supremacy, by which Henry VIII became Head of the Church in England in 1534. Houghton became the first martyr of the English Reformation.

The main flavour of the furnishings is Jacobean. The pulpit (reduced in the 1840s) and the Communion Table both date from the earliest days of the charity and have been in continuous use since.

The 1840s collegiate style seating along the south wall, and the corresponding seating on the north side of the building remind us that this was where the boys of the school gathered with the Brothers from 1614 to 1872, when the school moved to Godalming. Those boys included John Wesley, Roger Williams, William Thackeray, and Robert Baden-Powell.

The north nave houses the striking memorial to Thomas Sutton, who endowed the Charity in 1611 to house and support 80 poor elderly single people and to school 40 boys from poor families. This monument features early work by Nicholas Stone, who later became Master Mason to James I and Charles I.

All services are open to the public. The gatekeeper will be happy to admit anyone who would like to attend.

The services use the 17th-century language of the Book of Common Prayer. On weekdays there are usually about half-a-dozen of us. On Sundays we are about 30, and we sing a few hymns.

Monday to Saturday

• 08.00 Morning Prayer
• 17.30 Evening Prayer
• On Saints’ Days and Holy Days, we have a Eucharist instead of Evening Prayer

Sundays

• 09.45 Eucharist

Status

Charterhouse is a Peculiar, meaning that it’s overseen by an Ordinary (the Master), rather than the Bishop. In practice, the Chapel Priest (the Preacher) is appointed in consultation with London Diocese, and is licensed by the Bishop of London.

Family Celebrations

We hold Baptisms, Marriage Blessings, and Memorial Services according to demand. Please contact the Preacher. Weddings are extremely rare, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Office granting permission only when bride or groom lives or works at the Charterhouse, or has lived or worked here.

Music in the Chapel

The Chapel is on the London Diocesan list of music venues and is available to musicians both for rehearsal and for performance. Recent users include The Hanover Band, Fretwork, The Sixteen, and The White Collar Choir (made up of young lawyers).

Please contact The Preacher for further information.