Funding secures restoration of Coventry monastery into visitor attraction
A 600-year-old monastery in Coventry will be restored and opened to the public, thanks to a £4.3m National Lottery grant.
Charterhouse is a medieval, Grade 1 Listed 14th century Carthusian monastery, and is one of only two Carthusian Monasteries with significant remains in the UK. It is located along the River Sherbourne, just outside the city centre. Historic Coventry Trust and Coventry City Council have been planning how to restore the medieval building and its grounds since 2011.
The grant takes the Trust £350,000 short of its £8 million target, and will go towards opening a heritage visitor centre and educational attraction, and creating the first 30 acres of a 70 acre Heritage Park. It is hoped the park will be open to the public in time for Coventry’s City of Culture status in 2021.
Ros Kerslake, chief executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: “Charterhouse is a site steeped in heritage. From its origins as a medieval Carthusian monastery, to its subsequent associations with Richard II, the Wars of the Roses and 19th-century industrialists, it has a unique story to tell.
“This National Lottery funding will allow this precious group of grade I listed buildings to be restored, and a welcoming visitor attraction to be created for the future.”
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Coventry Council cabinet member for jobs and regeneration, said: “This is fantastic news for the city. The Charterhouse project will secure access for local people to this amazing building for the first time in its 600-year history.
“It will also be a major boost to tourism with huge potential for creating jobs for local people through the visitor economy. The Charterhouse is one of a number of projects that are going to put Coventry firmly on the tourist map in the run up to 2021.”
Construction work is expected to start in January 2019.
