SHARED LEARNING PROJECT WITH THE CHARTERHOUSE TRUST, EC1

THE CHARTERHOUSE BROTHERS: A SOCIAL HISTORY

Background: The Charterhouse was established in 1611 as an almshouse for elderly men and a school. The school was moved to Godalming in 1872, but the almshouse remains, as Sutton’s Hospital, close to Smithfield. Until the 1880s it housed 80 pensioners (known as Brothers); today it still has 45 Brothers.

The Project: No historical list of the Brothers exists, although one could be compiled from various sources. These include application papers, called ‘Governors’ nominations’ dating from 1621 to 1924, which are a part of the Sutton’s Hospital archive in the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA). The project group will research these files, where possible cross-referencing them to archives of Brothers who were admitted to the Almshouses, and other sources, to create a biographical index of the Brothers; and on the way to extract interesting personal stories for use in a future museum. It is anticipated that a presentation of the group’s research findings will be made to the Brothers at the end of the project.

What’s in it for you: A chance to be one of the first organisations to work with this prestigious institution, as part of the Museum of London/HLF grant application to develop a new museum in 2016.

You should apply if:

  • You are keen on London history, family history and social history
  • You enjoy archive research, preferably with experience of the LMA (though training given)
  • You have good eyesight and some experience of reading old English script – the older files may not be very legible!
  • You have computer experience – at least one of the group will need to set up an online database (almost certainly Excel spreadsheet) to hold the data collected from the research
  • You can attend most of the meetings including the first, mandatory, meeting
  • You can commit to carry out research at the LMA between progress meetings

Project period March 26th – June 11th 2015:

Dates and Venues: Preliminary meeting 11 a.m. Thursday March 26th (mandatory); then 5 biweekly progress meetings at from 11a.m.-1pm on Thursdays starting 16th April 2015 finishing 11th June 2015. A final presentation will take place either on 11th June, or at a later date to be advised. Meetings to be held at the Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, EC1M 6AN. All research will be carried out at the London Metropolitan Archive, 40 Northampton Row, Clerkenwell, EC1R 0HB; Access to a laptop would be very useful !

Travel:

  • Charterhouse: nearest underground Barbican (Hammersmith & City/Circle/Met);
  • LMA: nearest underground Farringdon (Circle/Hammersmith & City/Met) or Angel (Northern)

LMA opening hours:Monday 9.30am - 4.45pm (closed bank holidays) ;Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9.30am - 7.30pm; Friday closed

For further information and applications: Contact Andy Crane () Tel: 07552 771200

Application deadline: Friday February 27th, 2015