Charterhouse School, its gothic spires reaching elegantly towards the sky from their carpet of green on the Godalming hillside, is an integral part of our town.

Charterhouse has been there as long as our memories can reach - and our parents and grandparents before us would speak of the school as part of the fabric of daily life here.

But Charterhouse, in terms of Godalming's long history, is a relative newcomer – and the school didn't turn up, lock, stock, staff and students for the reasons most commonly thought.

Charterhouse started out as a London school.

So how and why did it end up in the bucolic Surrey countryside, far from the Charter House building in Clerkenwell that gave it its name?

The school's archivist, Catherine Young, recently spilt the beans on the school's move to Surrey in 1872, with a talk in aid of the original Charterhouse, a London almshouse that has gone through many iterations: monastery, mansion used by royalty, boys' school, charitable foundation. The talk was titled 'Politics and Conflict: Charterhouse School's exodus to Godalming'.

Catherine explained during the course of the talk that the famed public school actually found its home in Godalming due to a combination of a reforming government and a disgruntled teacher.

The Charter House charitable foundation, set up by civil servant, moneylender, entrepreneur and courtier Thomas Sutton in 1611, was housed in a redundant Carthusian monastery towards the east of London that had been converted into a mansion after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Sutton went on to provide, under the terms of his Will, to for up to 80 Brothers; "either decrepit or old captaynes either at sea or at land, maimed or disabled soldiers, merchants fallen on hard times, those ruined by shipwreck or other calamity." The institution was The Hospital of King James, and provided for up to 80 worthy but poor pensioners, and the education of 40 free scholars.

The charity continues its work today, providing almshouses for retired gentleman, referred to as Brothers. But Coronavirus has hit it hard: as well as tragically losing three of the Brothers to the virus, with visitors banned from the historic buildings and donations dropping, the Charter House has had to tighten its purse strings.

Ms Young's talk was held to raise funds from supporters who bought tickets for the virtual event.

So why did this thriving boys school, alma mater of the likes of William Makepeace Thackeray, Robert Baden-Powell and John Wesley, move from the City of London to Surrey? Was it for the fresh air and peaceful countryside? For the greater space afforded by the extensive grounds in which to play cricket and rugby? For the enthusiastic welcome no doubt extended by Godhelmians who recognised and embraced the commercial benefits such a prestigious establishment would bring to their town? In fact, it was all down to something more prosaic than that. It was down to politics. Two hundred years after its establishment, Thomas Sutton's charitable foundation had been split in two: the pensioners on one hand and the school on the other. Catherine explained to her virtual audience that essentially, moving the school out of the capital put it further out of reach of the pockets of aspirant middle-class parents, thereby retaining it as an enclave for the upper classes whose sons were guaranteed places at the top end of society, and needed just a thorough grounding in the classics in order to get there. "The improvements in pupil health and wellbeing as a result of a move to Surrey were just a happy byproduct of a decision taken for political reasons," she said. The catalyst for the change was the Clarendon Commission on Public Schools in 1861. Three commissions were set up by the government of the day to reform education across society. The Newcastle Commission in 1858 looked into the provision of education for the working classes. The Taunton Commission in 1864 investigated schools for middle classes; and the Clarendon Commission on public schools in 1861 investigated the leading public schools of the day. Questionnaires were sent out in October 1861 to those nine schools: Charterhouse, Eton, Winchester, Harrow and Rugby among them. Staff and pupils were asked about all aspects of school life, from the income and management of the schools to curriculums and food. They were followed by visits to the schools by commissioners. The Rev Richard Elwyn, the schoolmaster at Charterhouse as well as an Old Carthusian himself, was head of school from 1853-1863. The commissioners questioned him extensively. When asked about pupil numbers, he volunteered the information that there were 35 day boys, the sons of medics, the clergy, lawyers and other professions. He said that occasionally, sons of tradesmen were enrolled at the school by their parents, but Charterhouse was principally a boarding school for gentlemen's sons, and that fact alone often deterred middle-class pupils.

The boarders – made up largely of the former - and day boys, made up largely by the latter, had different timetables: boarders started work over an hour earlier than the day boys.

When questioned about the location of the school, he accepted it was a long way from the West End, where the upper classes lived. He added also that the Smithfield entrance, close to the livestock pens and abattoirs of the meat market, was "very disadvantageous", but said he believed the neighbourhood 'harmless but of an unfortunate appearance'. In fact the surrounding area was home to 38 gin palaces, plus pawn shops and shops famous for selling stolen goods.

He said that moving out of London would be beneficial, but would be difficult owing to the school's close involvement with the pensioners; plus, it would cost a lot.

He was then asked if the Master of Charterhouse had any influence over the school, and replied that there had been differences of opinion over sleeping, washing and catering arrangements.

The Very Rev Augustus Page-Saunders was questioned next by the commission. A former pupil, he had been a schoolmaster at Charterhouse for 21 years until 1853 and was now dean of Peterborough.

Saunders talked of poor relations between the master and the schoolmaster. The schoolmaster, he said, always insisted on attending examinations and making observations, and over the course of the summer holidays one year changed the dormitories around, a move which had to be rectified upon the boys' return to school. The master, he said, "Annoyed the masters very much, as he did me."

He endorsed moving the school to the country, which, he believed, would remove it from the master's influence.

"There is no necessity or even desirable connection between the school and the hospital," he told the commissioners.

He added that he supported selling off the school buildings and moving to the country, and places should be offered on the basis of academic competition rather than boys being nominated by the governors.

The Venerable William Hale, Old Carthusian and Master of the London Charterhouse between 1842 and 1870, was quizzed next.

He opposed the change of site and said the school wasn't full because parents didn't realise they could send their boys there for £20 a year.

"I see no advantage in separating the hospital from the school," he told the commissioners.

He said the school could be filled with day boys, and recommended they should sit a competitive exam to gain a place rather than be chosen on the basis of means testing or recommendation.

The commissioners' final report made recommendations on all sorts of matters, including corporal punishment, the curriculum, pay, and governance and finance.

They recommended moving the school to the country, funding the move by slling the old school playground and buildings. It was apparent the alumni generally supported that suggestion.

"By moving Charterhouse to the country it would secure its status as a public school providing a classical education for an upper class elite," Catherine told her audience.

The governing body of Charterhouse wasn't happy with the outcome, however.

"They must have realised it

was inevitable, but went through the whole grieving process of denial, anger, sadness and acceptance. You can track all that by looking at the governing body minutes," she said.

They drew up plans to get the school numbers up and keep the school where it was.

December 1863 William Haig-Brown was appointed headmaster.

They then held an inquiry into Saunders's allegations about the master, but decided Saunders had made the claims simply because he didn't like him. In March 1865 the school's governing body rejected the Clarendon Commission's recommendations, including the move to the country. By March 1866 it was starting to accept the move was inevitable, and started thinking about selling off the school's part of the estate. In July 1866 they accepted an offer from Merchant Taylors School to buy the school site for £90,000. School architect Phillip Hardwick and William Haig Brown were tasked with the job of finding a new site for the school, and came up with the Deanery Farm estate in Godalming. The 68-acre site was duly bought in March 1867 for £9,450. A Private Bill passed in Parliament August 1867 allowed the charity to be split. The Public Schools Act 1868 removed some of the schools involved in the commission from the jurisdiction of the crown, the church and government and allowed them to establish a separate board of governors for their school. Building work started in 1868, and on June 18th 1872, 117 pupils from London and 37 new boys moved into Godalming. Catherine explained: "The decision to move Charterhouse School out of London was part of a government strategy to provide distinct educational experiences for the upper, middle and working classes. Charterhouse could either accept more day boys and become one of the middle class grammar schools, or move to the country to attract parents seeking an exclusive education. "The conflict between the master and schoolmasters fed into this narrative, and Saunders' testimony against the master's interference may have had some influence. The government had effectively forced the governors' hand to force the move to fit in with the government's educational reforms. "Elwyn and Saunders had been brave enough to challenge the status quo.

"It's hard today to imagine what the school would have been like it had stayed in London with a five-acre playing field instead of the 50 acres that we have in Godalming."