150 YEARS
1892
F
It is 150 years since the first Charterhouse pupils arrived in Godalming, walking up Racquets Court Hill from the railway station. They were greeted with the splendid sight of their brand new, purposebuilt School.
or pupils used to the crowded, smog-filled streets of London the contrast must have been awe-inspiring. The buildings were designed to impress, built in the Gothic style from Bargate sandstone, freshlyhewn from a quarry just below Big Ground. The architect, Philip Hardwick, included symbolic echoes of the monastic London Charterhouse buildings and historic items were incorporated from the old School, including an entire archway from the old Gownboys House.
about the oriental respect with which we are treated by the trades people and we are really well served. I have fish to the door four times a week and any amount of ducks, chickens and eggs… We have Clarke for grocer, Wells for milk and Mr Bryant MarshallNixon greengrocer.” Delivery was by horse and cart or on foot and the closest approximation to Deliveroo was the muffin man, who circulated the Houses once a week with a tray of muffins and crumpets on his head, costing two for one penny.
Pupils and beaks alike were eager to explore their new surroundings and, as playing fields had yet to be constructed, the boys were permitted to walk or cycle in the countryside and swim in the River Wey. Local townsfolk were equally curious to meet their new neighbours: the Mayor and corporation, resplendent in their civic robes, arrived in four carriages for a formal visitation. A welcome address was presented to the Headmaster, and the dignitaries were given a tour of the new premises.
1872 was the beginning of a long and generally happy and symbiotic relationship between Charterhouse and local businesses. A local tailor, Pitchers of Godalming, soon became the School’s preferred uniform supplier, visiting the Houses daily to take orders; boots and shoes were manufactured locally by Holdens, and bespoke caps were handmade by Mrs Mary Anne Wright from her cottage in Peperharow Road. Charterhouse staff soon started to have an impact in the local community: Frederic Girdlestone (BH1867-1912) and Thomas Ethelbert Page (BH1873-1910) were the first of many beaks to be elected to Godalming Borough Council
Local businesses were keen to impress. Annie Marion Haig Brown, the Headmaster’s wife, wrote to her parents: “I must not forget to tell you
150 26
glorious years in Godalming
