London Charterhouse

The London Charterhouse began as a grim necessity during the Black Death of 1348. When the city’s established cemeteries could no longer accommodate the overwhelming number of victims, a knight named Sir Walter Manny leased this land to create an emergency burial ground. It served as a final resting place for thousands of plague victims, and a chapel was soon built on the site so that prayers could be offered for their souls. This initial act of mercy transformed into a permanent site of reflection when, in 1371, a Carthusian monastery was founded here. The monks of the order lived in austere, solitary confinement, each within their own small cell and private garden, marking the beginning of the site’s long history of quiet contemplation and charity.