Founder's Court, pictured above in 1912, was bounded by Saunderites on the left (initially the headmaster's house) and the
old chapel on the right with the accommodation for the Gownboys, or foundation scholars,
joining the two. It is the front of the school buildings. The fountain in the centre of the lawn had been in place
for some years by the time the picture was taken, but the area of lawn behind where the boys are standing was being
prepared for the statue of Thomas Sutton, the school's founder (see below).
Whilst it isn't easy to tell how old the boys in the foreground were, one can only hope that they weren't amongst the 700
former pupils who were killed during the First World War. Others had served during the Boer war, including Lieutenant-General
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857-1941) who was at the siege of Mafeking. It was later said that he managed
to get a letter out to his mother in London in which he mentions the school's Founder's Day on 12th December. B-P is said
to have tried to locate another Old Carthusian in the South African town so they could honour both the school and "good
old Thomas Sutton"[1] but he celebrated the event alone.
Charterhouse School was founded in the City of London in 1611 as a hospital for eighty distressed gentlemen,
a school for forty-five boys, and for "the promotion of piety and good literature." [2].
The entrance from Founder's Court, beneath a lofty tower, can be seen in the second image. The tower itself is 140 feet
high and was a nesting place for owls. A. H. Tod, in the Handbook he wrote about Charterhouse in the early twentieth
century, states that "the upper part of the tower contains a large cistern into which water is pumped for the supply
of the school". Unfortunately, in 1896 the cistern burst and ten thousand gallons of water fell onto Gownboys and
the beds and bedding had to be laid out in the court to dry in the sun[3].
The granite fountain, shown in the middle of the lawn above, was a gift from an Old Carthusian, Sir H. Seymour King[3].
Close up of the statue erected in memory of the school's founder.
Thomas Sutton (b. Knaith, Lincolnshire 1532-12 Dec 1611).
The magnificent Sutton statue, like the older school buildings, is Grade 2 listed. It was the work of Sir W. Goscombe John, R.A.[4]
and was erected in the grounds to celebrate the school's tercentenary of 1911 after a fund was set up in 1910 for donations to
benefit all Carthusians, and there was to be an exhibition of the school's relics at the same time[5].
The bronze statue is eight feet high and the pedestal it stands on is ten feet high[6].
A smaller statue would not have been in keeping with the surrounding buildings. It was cast at the Thames Ditton Foundry unveiled
without ceremony on 6 July 1912[7].
There is another bronze statue, also Grade 2 listed today, of William Haig Brown in the grounds; this was erected outside the old Chapel in 1900
as a memorial of his work as headmaster[8].
 The British Museum has a portrait of Thomas Sutton in its prints and drawings section.
Although he is seated in the Museum's portrait, Sutton is depicted holding a scroll - just as he is here.
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