Heritage site set to open following £10m refurb
After undergoing a £10m refurbishment, Coventry’s Grade I listed Charterhouse will reopen for visitors.
The 14th Century building has seen a decade of fundraising and restoration work by Historic Coventry Trust, and will be open to the public for the first time in over 630 years.
Charterhouse now contains three conserved wall paintings of national importance, a revitalised garden and a new café/bar run by Michelin-star chef Glynn Purnell – Purnell’s at Charterhouse.
The National Lottery also played a key role in the project with £6m coming from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Charterhouse started life as a Carthusian monastery founded by Richard II in 1385 and has taken on many different roles over the years, including as a garden growing exotic plants and a private house once owned by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. It is the only Carthusian monastery in the country with surviving interiors.
Bequeathed to the people of Coventry by its last resident Colonel William Wyley in 1940 as a museum and park, the building’s most recent use was as part of Coventry College until 2011.
Historic Coventry Trust, supported by local residents, was formed to acquire it with the aim of delivering Colonel Wyley’s vision to open it up to the public.
Ian Harrabin, founder and chair of Historic Coventry Trust, said: “It has been a long road of more than a decade since our earliest meetings with the Council and local residents to save one of Coventry’s most important buildings. What has been achieved with the support of so many is testament to the power of working together.
“Colonel William Wyley’s vision for his bequest was for the building to be a centre for arts and culture, for the benefit of all people, and we are confident that the restoration and the activities we have organised will more than do honour to his wishes”.
Councillor David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, added: “The story of Charterhouse is a true reflection of the nature of our fantastic city. Thanks to the hard work of a group of dedicated and passionate residents and volunteers, Charterhouse was saved and restored”.
