Christ's Poor Men

Founded in 1088 by St Bruno at the Grande Chatreuse (hence their name) in France, the Carthusians came to Britain almost a hundred years later. Only nine permanent monasteries were established before the Reformation (and six of these were founded after the Black Death), but of the total of ten British charterhouses five have substantial remains (Mount Grace being the best preserved and most accessible) and a further two have excellent earthworks. As a result of recent archaeological investigation (much of it by the authors) a full picture of the order and its development is now possible. Individual chapters cover the origins of the order; the first Carthusians in Britain; the monasteries of the fourteenth century; the later monasteries of Mount Grace, Sheen and Perth; the Carthusians at the time of the Suppression of the Monasteries; and finally the recent contribution from archaeology.