The London Charterhouse

Thomas Sutton's reputation as the wealthiest commoner in England at the time of his death in 1611 was matched by the scale of the charity which he founded at the Charterhouse in Clerkenwell. This work examines the Charterhouse's significance as England's leading charity and the support and opposition that it attracted.

This, the latest in the series of MoLAS monographs on the religious houses of medieval London, considers the London Charterhouse, a Carthusian monastery founded in 1371, just outside the walled city. The volume is primarily intended to report on the 1998 excavations in Preachers Court, part of the Inner Court of the Charterhouse, but also incorporates a reassessment of Grimes' post-war work, and the results of numerous small excavations, evaluations and watching briefs conducted within the monastic precinct between 1998 and 2000. The result is a new, fully illustrated account of the development of the entire monastery, with a particular focus on its service areas. Separate discussions examine the pre-monastic use of the site as one of London's Black Death cemeteries, diet within the monastery, the monastic economy, and the impact of the sub-urban location on the reclusive Carthusian order. Evidence for the post-Dissolution period - the wider setting of the 16th century mansion and the hospital established in 1613/14 - is also examined, in this look at one of London's most fascinating historic sites.