The village of Charterhouse

Charterhouse, also known as Charterhouse-on-Mendip, is a small hamlet in the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the English county of Somerset.

The name is believed to come from the Carthusian order of Chartreuse in France, which was established in Witham (near Frome) in 1181 and formed a cell at Charterhouse in 1283 with a grant to mine lead ore.

There is evidence, in the form of burials in local caves, of human occupation since the late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age.[4]

The lead and silver mines at Charterhouse, were first operated on a large scale by the Romans, from at least AD 49.[5] At first the lead/silver industries were tightly controlled by the Roman military, but within a short time the extraction of these metals was contracted out to civilian companies, probably because the silver content of the local ore was not particularly high.[6] There was also some kind of 'fortlet' here in the 1st century, and an amphitheatre.[7] The Roman landscape has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[8]

After the dissolution of the monasteries, it was granted to Robert May who constructed a substantial house here and one of his descendants John May became High Sheriff of Somerset in 1602.[2]

There is further evidence of mine workings in the medieval and Victorian periods,[9][10] some of which survives within the Blackmoor Nature Reserve owned by Somerset County Council. There is also evidence of a rectangular medieval enclosure.[11]

Charterhouse Roman Town was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Its site is located just to the west of the village of Charterhouse-on-Mendip in the English county of Somerset.

Its Latin name may have been Iscalis, but this is far from certain[1]. An alternative, based on inscriptions on a pig of Roman lead BRIT. EX. ARG. VEB, meaning "British (lead) from the VEB... lead-silver works" would suggest the name VEB for the site. This may explain the nearby village of Ubley, as V and U are interchangeable in Latin, Ubley may have derived from Veb-ley, and was originally a settlement where Romano-British lead miners lived.[2]

The roman landscape has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[3]

The settlement grew up around the north-western edge of prehistoric lead and silver mines, which were exploited by the Romans. Mendip lead ore had up to 0.4% silver content, which the Romans used to pay the army. Extraction is thought to have begun as early as AD 49 (although the evidence of dateable lead ingots found in the neighbourhood has recently been questioned). At first the lead and silver industries were tightly controlled by the Roman military (in the south-west, by the Second Legion[6]) and there was a small 'fortlet' adjoining the mines during the 1st century, which may, however, have been little more than a fortified compound for storing lead pigs. After a short time, the extraction of these metals was contracted out to civilian companies, probably because of low silver content. Smelting was undertaken on site where industrial workshops have been excavated, and the metal exported along a minor road to the Fosse Way, and probably through a small inland port at nearby Cheddar.

An amphitheatre stood west of the settlement. It is the only one in England to exist at a lead mine and is additional evidence of the importance of Mendip lead to the Romans. It measures 32m x 24.4m and the banks for the seating survive 4.5m above the arena. It was surveyed in 1909. It was probably a place of entertainment for the soldiers at the Roman fort which was established here.

AONB Centre

The outdoor activity centre and headquarters of the Mendip Hills AONB is based at Charterhouse, with accommodation, classrooms and offices.

Caves

There are several Caves of the Mendip Hills in the limestone around the village including Manor Farm Swallet and Upper Flood Swallet.

Church

Church of St Hugh's, Charterhouse

The Church of England parish church of St Hugh was built in 1908 by W.D. Caroe, on the initiative of the Rev. Menzies Lambrick, from the former welfare hall for the lead miners. It is a Grade II* listed building. A cross in the churchyard and the churchyard wall are also listed buildings.

The roof-truss, screen, rood, and altar are all made of carved whitened oak.

References

^ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 1874336032.

^ a b Reid, Robert Douglas (1979). Some buildings of Mendip. The Mendip Society. ISBN 0905459164.

^ "Autumn newsletter 2007" (PDF). Mendip Hills AONB. Retrieved 2007-09-25.

^ "Mendip Hills: An Archaeological Survey of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". Somerset County Council Archaeological Projects. Retrieved 2006-10-28.

^ Havinden, Michael. The Somerset Landscape. The making of the English landscape. London: Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0340201169.

^ "Major Romano-British Settlement Charterhouse on Mendip, Avon". Roman Britain.org. Retrieved 2006-10-28.

^ "Charterhouse". Big Roman Dig. Retrieved 2006-10-28.

^ Firth, Hannah (2007). Mendip from the air. Taunton: Somerset County Council. ISBN 9780861833900.

^ "Mendip Hills: An Archaeological Survey of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". Somerset County Council Archaeological Projects. Retrieved 2006-10-28.

^ Gough, J.W. (1967). The mines of Mendip. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles.

^ Adkins, Lesley and Roy (1992). A Field Guide to Somerset Archaeology. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. ISBN 0946159947.

^ Staveacre, Tony (December 2006). "Christmas at Charterhouse". Mendip Times 2 (7): 8.

^ "Church of St Hugh". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-10-29.

^ "Churchyard Cross in churchyard, Church of St Hugh". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-10-29.

^ "Churchyard Wall to Church of St Hugh". Images of England. Retrieved 2006-10-29.

^ Staveacre, Tony (December 2006). "Christmas at Charterhouse". Mendip Times 2 (7): 8.