Why pilgrims come
A sacred place worth the journey.
The surviving London Charterhouse recalls Prior St. John Houghton and the Carthusian community that resisted Henry VIII’s royal supremacy, beginning a chain of martyrdom in 1535.
The pilgrim’s guide
What makes this visit meaningful
The Charterhouse gives physical context to the first great rupture suffered by London’s religious communities under Henry VIII. Remember St. John Houghton, the monks who refused the Oath of Supremacy, and the community members later imprisoned and starved. Continue to Tyburn, where Houghton and his companions were executed.
St. John Houghton and the Oath
Learn why the prior and his community refused the royal supremacy and how that fidelity led to martyrdom.
The suffering of the Carthusian community
The site interprets the suppression of the monastery and the imprisonment and deaths that followed.
Chapel and museum
Use the surviving buildings and collection to place the martyrs within their original religious home.
Feasts & celebrations
Continue nearby