This view of the Memorial Chapel, taken in the year it was dedicated (see previous
page), was viewed from the grounds of Hodgsonites then on the opposite side of Charterhouse Road. Hodgsonites and Weekites,
the four storey building below the chapel with the distinctive chimneys, were both boarding houses where the Charterhouse
School boy boarders lived during term-time. Lockites, another school house, is visible through the trees on the right of
Weekites.
Weekites was named after the Church of England clergyman and schoolmaster Charles Hampton Weekes who had been a vicar in Lindfield,
Sussex[1] before joining the Charterhouse staff. He had studied at Exeter College, Oxford
and was awarded his M.A. in 1865[2]. He joined the staff of Charterhouse in 1873 when the
school transferred from London and built Weekites[3]. The first Surrey trades directory reference for
him was in 1878[4] and the 1881 census shows his boarding house as being on Sandy
Lane[5], now Charterhouse Road. It wasn't until the 1891 census that the Enumerator gave a slightly fuller
address; the house was then named "Rev. C. H. Weekes", and the pupils living there would have been Weekites[6].
He left Weekites in 1896, although he remained on the school's staff until 1902, as he had built the Manor House on land on the top of
Frith Hill that had been used by the Farncombe Allotment holders[7]. He and his family did
not remain there long, selling that property to Mr. Crisp.
Weekes was one of the sons of Richard and Mary Weekes of Hurstpierpoint in Sussex and was christened there on 25th January 1840. He
married his wife Laura (nee Smith) in the same church on 2nd February 1864; she had also been christened at Hurst[8].
When they celebrated their diamond wedding in 1924 they received a congratulatory message from the King. At the time of their
65th wedding anniversary in 1929 Charles Weekes was quoted as saying that the recipe for their happy marriage had been "put up with everything that comes
along and look for the brighter side of everything in life"[9].
Clearly, Charles Weekes was clearly not without a sense of humour as he recounted a tale of a visit to the Ascot races with Rev. Gerald S. Davies when they
were both masters at Charterhouse. The girl collecting their tickets commented that she didn't know they allowed parsons! Both Weekes and Davies were strongly
opposed to gambling and "had never had a farthing on a horse" although apparently Rev. Davies had "a wonderful way of spotting a winner"[9].
By 1911 Rev. Weekes, then 71, and his wife were living in the 21 roomed mansion called Woodmancourt on Mark Way with several of their children[10].
Charles Weekes, still "of Woodmancourt", died on 14 April 1932, aged 92. An obituary recalled how he had taught Baden-Powell the Greek Testament. He had
been a great walker and served on Godalming Rural Council for many years after retiring from teaching[3]. Laura Weekes
continued to live at the house until her death on 5 Jan 1936, aged 96. Woodmancourt remained the home of the couple's son, Lawrence Car[e]y Hampton Weekes, who
died in September 1953, and his sister Edith H. Weekes. Miss Weekes passed away in 1964, but by then was living on Priorsfield Road[11].
Six members of the Weekes family are buried in the Nightingale Cemetery on Deanery Road[12]. Their family home was
eventually demolished by Bovis Homes.
The housemaster who followed on from Charles Weekes was Rev. William Francis John Romanis, formerly of Pageites, who
retired from teaching in 1907. He was succeeded by James Andrew Arnan Tait, another clerk in Holy Orders, who had been at Laleham before transferring to Weekites. In 1911 he,
his wife and daughter were living with 29 boarders and 9 servants including a cook, Matron and Under Butler in 50 rooms (34 had been crossed through). Tait had been a
curate in Farncombe in the 1880s before joining the school's staff and was a keen cricketer and accomplished musician. He passed away in 1915[13].
Possibly the most dramatic occurrence in his time in the house was in May 1913 when a fire destroyed a study and damaged the second floor of Weekites. Boys were asleep at
the time, but the noise of the windows exploding was heard by a passing police constable, who raised the alarm and nobody was injured[14].
One of the pupils in Weekites that night would have been Richard Frank Hill of Buxted (28 Apr 1899-17 Apr 1918). He left Charterhouse at Easter 1917
and joined the Royal Flying Corps. He went to France and soon distinguished himself. On 29 October that year Temp. Sec. Lt. Richard F. Hill was awarded
the Military Cross (Gen. List and R.F.C). He afterwards returned to England but, rather cruelly, became ill with appendicitis and died[15].
His is amongst the many names commemorated in the school's chapel.
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Enlargement of the 1927 image above. On the right of the house
are some of the hillside paths the boys used to access the main school. |
It was decided to replace all the boarding houses that were outside the school's perimeter in 1971[16]
and two years later Surrey County Council placed a notice in the press[17]: schedule (b) covered
"about 4 acres (gross) on the south-west side of Charterhouse Road, comprising "Lockites" and "Weekites". The proposed
redevelopment was for two blocks (6 to 8 storeys) totalling 65 flats with parking spaces for 101 cars.
Charterhouse School sold Weekites and Lockites to developers and both buildings were demolished. Six masters' houses had already been sold
on Frith Hill. In the end the flats, known as Chapel Fields, were built on the land of the former boys' boarding houses and another parcel of land known as The Orchard
that was between the two. Three blocks were eventually built, each four storeys high; the last to be sold were on the market in early 1984. The house names remain, but
the pupils are now in more modern school accommodation off Hurtmore Road. Whilst not as attractive as the old building, it is undoubtedly considerably more up to date.
Read more about what happened to Robinites and the other outhouses in the 1960s and 70s, including the Markenhorn project.
Other Charterhouse "outhouses" built in the 19th century
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