The Charterhouse

The lowdown

Behind a quiet gate on Charterhouse Square sits one of the most layered historic sites in London, and there is a free museum that lets you in on its story. The land began as a mass burial ground for victims of the Black Death, became a Carthusian monastery, then a grand Tudor mansion, and is now an almshouse still home to a community of residents called Brothers.

The free museum walks you through all six centuries with objects, models and beautifully told stories, in rooms that are themselves part of the history. It is small, calm and surprisingly moving, a reminder of how much one patch of London can have lived through.

Guided tours that take you deeper into the chapel, the Great Hall and the grounds are ticketed, but the museum and the peaceful square outside are free, and most people passing through Smithfield have no idea any of it is there.