Charterhouse School

Charterhouse School is a British public school, located in Godalming in the county of Surrey. It was founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian Monastery in Charterhouse Square, Smithfield (see Charterhouse). Today, pupils are still referred to as Carthusians, and ex-pupils as Old Carthusians or OCs.

History

The school was moved to its present site in 1872 by the then headmaster, the Revd. Dr. Haig Brown - a decision influenced by the findings of the Public Schools Commission of 1864.

Related Topics:
1872 - Revd. Dr. Haig Brown

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The school bought a 68 acre (270,000 m²) site on top of a hill just outside Godalming. In addition to the main school buildings (designed by architect Philip Charles Hardwick), they constructed three boarding houses, known as Saunderites, Verites and Gownboys (for scholars, who were entitled to wear gowns).

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As pupil numbers grew, other houses were built alongside the approach road, now known as Charterhouse Hill. Each was titled with an adaptation of the name of their first housemaster, such as Daviesites, Bodeites and Girdlestoneites. The last of these is still referred to as Duckites, reflecting the unusual gait of its original housemaster, even though he retired well over 100 years ago! There are now the original four 'old' houses plus seven 'new' houses, making eleven boarding houses in total. The eleven Houses have preserved a unique identity - each with its own tie and colours - and pupils compete against each other in both sports and the arts.

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The Boarding Houses (in order of founding, and with their school abbreviation and house colour) are: Saunderites (S - Orange); Verites (V - Grey, turquoise and black); Gownboys (G - Deep Red); Girdlestoneites (g - White ); Lockites (L - Light lime green yellow); Weekites (W - Red); Hodgsonites (H - Blue); Daviesites (D - Green); Bodeites (B - Yellow); Pageites (P - Pink); and Robinites (R - Purple).

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The school continued to expand over the 20th century. Further land was bought to the north and west, increasing the grounds to over 200 acres (809,000 m²), and a new school chapel was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (perhaps best known for designing the red telephone box) and consecrated in 1927 to commemorate almost 700 pupils who died in the First World War, making it the largest war memorial in England. Around 350 names have been subsequently added to commemorate those who died in the Second World War and other conflicts of the twentieth century. Pupils still attend a short chapel service there five times a week.

Related Topics:
20th century - Giles Gilbert Scott - Red telephone box - First World War - Second World War

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Charterhouse was all male until the 1970s when girls were first admitted in the sixth form (the final two years), and this continues to be the case today. Of over 300 sixth formers today, almost a third are girls.

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The most significant addition to the campus was seven new Houses, built in the 1970s, replacing late Victorian boarding houses which were demolished in 1977. Other newer buildings include the Art Studio, the John Derry Technology Centre, the Ben Travers Theatre, the Ralph Vaughan Williams Music Centre, the Halford Hewitt Golf Course, the Queen?s Sports Centre, the Sir Greville Spratt athletics track and Chetwynd, a hall of residence for girls. In 2003, the School renovated its onsite Library and its contents and facilities could easily rival many University libraries.

Related Topics:
Ben Travers - Ralph Vaughan Williams

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As the alma mater of the now disgraced and imprisoned pop mogul Jonathan King, and of all founding members of Genesis - Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Chris Stewart and Anthony Phillips - Charterhouse can claim a major role in originating the dramatic cultural changes to have affected the British public school classes in recent times.

Related Topics:
Jonathan King - Genesis - Tony Banks - Peter Gabriel - Mike Rutherford - Chris Stewart - Anthony Phillips

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