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
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 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. |
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[2].
The granite fountain, shown in the middle of the lawn above,
was a gift from an Old Carthusian, Sir H. Seymour King[2].
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 W. Goscombe John[3] and
was erected in the grounds to celebrate the school's tercentenary
in 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[4].
There is another bronze statue, also 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[5].
 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.
|
