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Charterhouse, Coventry (also known as St. Anne’s Priory, Coventry) is a grade I listed building on London Road, Coventry, in the West Midlands, England.[1]

Information plaque, 2008

The current building incorporates remains from the charterhouse of St Anne, a Carthusian foundation for a prior and twelve monks, as well as lay brethren.[2] The charterhouse was initiated in 1381 by William la Zouche, Lord Zouche of Harringworth, Northamptonshire, on 14 acres of land obtained from Sir Baldwin Freville.[2][3] The foundation stone was laid on 6 September 1385 by King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia,[4][5] who took over patronage as principalis fundator.[2] Henry VI and Henry VII also became benefactors.[2]

The charterhouse was built from local red sandstone[6] and was completed by 1410.[7] It contains additions from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as three wall paintings dating to the same era.[4][8] The earliest painting at the Charterhouse, dated to about 1417,[3] depicts the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ with the Virgin Mary and St Anne on either side and other figures nearby, including the Roman soldier Longinus and an angel collecting Christ’s blood.[3][9] The painting was originally in the monks refectory,[citation needed] with only the bottom half of the work remaining.[9][10] It is the only surviving medieval wall painting in a Carthusian monastery in England.[11]

The Charterhouse ceased operation as a monastery during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.[12] The last prior was forced to surrender the site to the crown on 16 January 1539[7] and it was subsequently sold into private hands.[3] The site was owned by Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester for four years during the reign of Elizabeth I.[5] Some of the original window tracery still survives, but the chapter house, church and wooden monks cells were demolished.[13] A glazed orangery and sash windows were added in the 18th century.[14]

The Charterhouse was used as a private home from 1848 to 1940, when it was bequeathed by the last private owner, Colonel William Fitzherbert Wyley, to the people of Coventry as a centre for arts and culture.[5][6][15] Archaeological excavations were conducted by Ian Sodden between 1968 and 1987.[citation needed] The building was then used by Tile Hill College as a training centre for adult education classes until 2009.[3][16]

Medieval religious painting of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Coventry Charterhouse
Renaissance black and white wall painting at Coventry Charterhouse

The Coach House and Medieval Precinct Wall to the Charterhouse form a group of listed buildings.[1] The Charterhouse itself is a grade I listed building,[1] the precinct wall is grade II* listed,[17] the coach house is grade II listed, and the whole site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[18] The site was placed on the English Heritage at Risk Register due to problems with the roof.[19][20] After community action to save the Charterhouse, the building is now owned by the charity Historic Coventry Trust which seeks to regenerate the site, supported by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund,[14] Historic England and the Historic Houses Foundation.[10]

View of Coventry Charterhouse from the garden

The building was removed from the Heritage at Risk Register in 2022,[21] and opened to the public in April 2023.[22][23][24] In January 2025, Coventry City Council announced that a partnership with the National Trust had been formed to manage the site.[25][26] The Charterhouse was reopened as a National Trust property in May 2025.[27][28]

The Charterhouse is on the banks of the River Sherbourne, Coventry’s main river. A short distance away is the Sherbourne Viaduct, a railway bridge carrying the Coventry to Rugby railway line over the river.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Historic England. “The Charterhouse, Coventry (1076621)”. National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Luxford, Julian M. (2011). “The Charterhouse of St Anne, Coventry”. In Monckton, Linda (ed.). Coventry: Medieval Art, Architecture and Archaeology in the City and its Vicinity. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315095363-13 (inactive 6 April 2026). ISBN 9781315095363.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2026 (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e McGrory, David (15 April 2017). Coventry in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing Limited. pp. 1278–1280. ISBN 978-1-4456-6579-5.
  4. ^ a b Davidson, Clifford (19 December 2016). Studies in Late Medieval Wall Paintings, Manuscript Illuminations, and Texts. Springer. p. 40. ISBN 978-3-319-47476-2.
  5. ^ a b c Kennedy, Maev (31 March 2021). “Gifted to the English city 80 years ago, Coventry’s medieval Charterhouse will finally open to the public”. The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  6. ^ a b Stirland, Jane (4 February 2015). “Look: What is Coventry Charterhouse and why is it of national importance?”. Coventry Live. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  7. ^ a b “Charterhouse”. Historic Coventry Trust. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  8. ^ Turpin, Pierre (1919). “Ancient Wall-Paintings in the Charterhouse, Coventry”. The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 35 (201): 246–253. ISSN 0951-0788. JSTOR 860934.
  9. ^ a b Mellie, Naydenova-Slade (2011). “A ‘bodi ful of woundis’: The 15th-Century Mural at St Anne’s Charterhouse, Coventry”. In Monckton, Linda (ed.). Coventry: Medieval Art, Architecture and Archaeology in the City and its Vicinity. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315095363-14 (inactive 6 April 2026). ISBN 9781315095363.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2026 (link)
  10. ^ a b Adams, Kat (7 May 2021). “Major conservation project at one of Coventry’s finest medieval buildings”. Business Mondays. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  11. ^ “England’s only surviving wall painting in a Carthusian monastery restored in Coventry”. CW Growth Hub. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  12. ^ “The Charterhouse Coventry”. Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019. it suffered at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries when the Chapel and other religious buildings were destroyed and used as building materials.
  13. ^ Mullen, Enda (3 May 2020). “Exciting historic discoveries shed new light on 14th century life in Coventry”. Coventry Live. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  14. ^ a b “Coventry Grade I listed Charterhouse reopens as living heritage site”. The National Lottery Heritage Fund. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  15. ^ “Charterhouse Priory”. The Charterhouse Coventry. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  16. ^ Demidowicz, George (2003). A Guide to the Buildings of Coventry: An Illustrated Architectural History. Tempus. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-7524-3115-4.
  17. ^ Historic England. “Medieval Precinct Wall to the Charterhouse (1342917)”. National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  18. ^ Historic England. “Site of Charterhouse (1005901)”. National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  19. ^ Heritage at Risk Register 2017, West Midlands. Heritage at Risk (Report). English Heritage. p. 74. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  20. ^ “Coventry Charterhouse on English Heritage At Risk list”. BBC News. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  21. ^ “Saved: Coventry Charterhouse, London Road, Coventry”. Historic England. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  22. ^ “Coventry’s Charterhouse to reopen in April after £10m repair work”. BBC News. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  23. ^ Murray, Jessica (27 March 2023). “Coventry’s medieval Charterhouse opens to public after 11-year rescue effort”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  24. ^ Blackledge, Richard (3 April 2023). “Historic ‘hidden gem’ welcomes visitors for first time in 600 years”. Coventry Live. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  25. ^ “National Trust to manage The Charterhouse, the charity’s first property in Coventry”. Coventry City Council. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  26. ^ Giddings, Andy (10 January 2025). “National Trust to run Coventry’s Charterhouse site”. BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  27. ^ Headley, Shannen (12 May 2025). “Coventry Charterhouse to reopen to public”. BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  28. ^ Thompson, Danny (9 May 2025). “Former 14th century Coventry monastery to re-open to the public this month”. Coventry Live. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  29. ^ Historic England. “Sherbourne Viaduct (1431087)”. National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 December 2022.

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