T
he entrance to Charterhouse is rather understated, so much so that yours truly missed it
at the first attempt! Here, there are no triumphal wrought iron gates or large signs shouting its existence; rather surprising, perhaps, for an establishment that is rated in the top six public schools in the UK. Famous former pupils include the founder of the scout movement, Lord Baden Powell, whose move to leafy Surrey prompted his love of all things
countryside; playwright Ben Travers, whom the school’s theatre is named after; England cricket captain, Peter May, who once famously, as legend has it, hit a six over the imposing school building, such was his talent; and the original line-up of prog rock band, Genesis, including Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, who began their career in music whilst still pupils.
The school accommodates 795 pupils aged between fourteen and eighteen, of which 135 are girls. This summer, Charterhouse celebrates its 400th anniversary. Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611, on the site of an old Carthusian monastery in Charterhouse Square, Smithfield, it is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. It moved to its present site just outside Godalming in 1872, after completion of the buildings from stone and sand quarried from the site.
In 1927, the building of the Memorial Chapel was completed to honour the 700 former pupils who had died in action during World War 1. The architect was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who is best known as the designer of the red telephone box. The original eighty acre site has, over the years, expanded to close to 250 acres comprising eighty acres of woodland, fifty-five acres of lawns and formal gardens and thirty acres occupied by a nine-hole golf course. The remaining acreage is given over to a stunning array of sports
pitches set out in defined areas - Under Green, Lessington, Wilderness, Big Ground, Green, Broom & Lees and Northbrook being the main ones. Northbrook is the most
recent addition (1970s) and here are sited the artificial hockey pitch, the Queen’s Sports Centre and the Sir Greville Spratt Athletics Stadium, along with space for three cricket squares, seven football pitches, one lacrosse pitch, two training grids and one rugby pitch. Perhaps surprisingly,
there is only one rugby pitch, as Charterhouse is very much a football school. Some of the original rules of association football were drawn up here, and the school continues to produce fine players who often progress to the highest level. They are recent winners of the Boodles ISFA Cup [Independent Schools Football Association], beating arch rivals Eton 2-0 in front of a crowd of 2,000 at the MK Dons Stadium; Harry Lineker, son of Gary, opening the scoring. The year is split into three ‘quarters’ - the Oration Quarter from early
September to mid December, the Long Quarter from mid January to late March which, traditionally, has the distinction of being the shortest third of the school year, despite its name, and the Cricket Quarter from late April to late June or early July. During the summer holidays the facilities are let out to American schools for summer camps and English Lacrosse.
Overseeing the grounds maintenance team is Dave Roberts, the former Grounds Manager at Southampton Football Club. A native of Staffordshire, Dave began his career on the YOP scheme at Staffordshire County Council, returning to college to complete a National Certificate in Horticulture before becoming a self employed landscape gardener. “My timing wasn’t the best,” says Dave, “as it coincided with the beginning of the last recession. After spending some time looking for work,
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