The Charterhouse
six centuries behind a quiet gate
A free museum inside a six-hundred-year-old former monastery off Smithfield, telling the story of a building that has been a plague burial ground, a Tudor mansion and an almshouse.
Free to visit · Barbican · Barbican · EC1M 6AN
Opening: Tue–Sun · museum free · closed Mon · check times
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.
Getting there: On Charterhouse Square by Smithfield, a couple of minutes from Barbican or Farringdon.
Best time to go: A weekday for peace. The free museum is open most days, while the guided tours of the grounds are ticketed.
Insider tip: The museum is the free part, the in-depth tours of the chapel and grounds are paid, so come for the free galleries and the calm of the square first. The leafy Charterhouse Square outside is a lovely free spot to sit away from the Smithfield bustle.
Official site: https://www.thecharterhouse.org
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide