Issue No. 25

A long, tree lined drive surrounded by fields
and forests, makes for an impressive
entrance to a grand arched doorway. Step
through and you’ll enter a different world.
One which has its feet firmly in the past.
I’d spotted this monumental building from
the ramparts of nearby Montreuil-sur-Mer’s
citadel. It’s hard to miss the grey stone
belfries reaching to the sky and row upon
row of ancient buildings which stand out
amongst the forests and fields of the lush
countryside. La Chartreuse de Neuville-sur-
Mer or the Charterhouse, as it’s called in
English, is nothing short of astonishing.
History of the Charterhouse
In 1084, a group of monks wanting to follow
the harsh, contemplative lives of early
Christian hermits, formed a small community
in the Chartreuse Mountains, near
Grenoble, southeast France. They led silent,
meditative lives and owned no possessions.
From this beginning grew a new monastic
order that spread rapidly across Europe. The
monks became known as Carthusians and
their priories as charterhouses.
History of La Chartreuse de Neuville
Charterhouses were established all over
Europe. They were all built to a formal
specification and for the same purpose says
my guide Patrick Alindre at La Chartreuse.
Around a Cour d’honneur lived the Brothers,
monks who worked in the monastery and
supported the Fathers. Behind this were the
apartments of the Fathers. Each lived alone
and in silence.
The Charterhouses were huge “because only
then could silence be guaranteed and that
was essential to the role of the Fathers” says
Patrick as our footsteps echo around the
enormous cloisters.
The original charterhouse of Neuville was
built in 1324, commissioned by the powerful
Count of Boulogne in the shadow of
Montreuil-sur-Mer which was a pilgrimage
destination, as well as a prosperous port
town.