The Charterhouse can host company dinners, receptions, talks and day meetings in a set of historic rooms and garden courts at Charterhouse Square in Smithfield, London. It is a working almshouse for older men and women, and this shapes every booking: events can only take place between 8 am and 10 pm.
Seminars and company events
The principal rooms are the Great Hall, the Great Chamber and the Norfolk Cloister. Further rooms add choice: the Governors' Room, the Charterhouse Chapel, the Chapel Cloister, the Old Library and the Sutton Room. A dedicated corporate events page sets out how organizations use the spaces, and a separate page lists the spaces and their hire terms. The site does not publish capacities in the text we reviewed, so request the figures for your layout when you write in.
A day meeting can use one of the smaller rooms, while a reception or a dinner can combine a hall with a cloister or a garden. Since the working hours end at 10 pm, plan evening programs with a firm finish and a clear arrival time.
Weddings and receptions
The spaces are also offered for receptions and private events. The Chapel and its cloister give a formal setting for a ceremony or a toast, and the courtyards allow guests to move outdoors between courses. As with corporate bookings, the 8 am to 10 pm limit applies.
Rooms and capacities
The Great Hall keeps the arched ceiling of the original Tudor reception hall. The Great Chamber is described as the last surviving Tudor great chamber in London. The Norfolk Cloister is a 14th-century monastery cloister that the Duke of Norfolk later turned into a garden gallery. Outdoors there are four areas: Master's Court, Norfolk Garden, Washhouse Court and Charterhouse Square. Washhouse Court is one of the earliest parts of the site and once housed its laundry and bakery.
History and setting
The site began as a Carthusian monastery in the 14th century and became a Tudor house and later a charitable foundation. Today residents live on site, so guests share the grounds with a living community. Organizers should brief guests to keep noise down in the courts and to follow the staff's guidance about which areas are private.
Getting there
The Charterhouse is on Charterhouse Square, EC1M 6AN, in the Smithfield and Barbican area. Barbican and Farringdon stations are the closest connections, and both are a short walk from the square.
