The Assembly Order Books of the Hospital of King James in Charterhouse (known as Sutton’s Hospital after its founder, Thomas Sutton) constitute a record of all that the Governors ‘ordered and appointed’ to be done for nomination and admission of ‘Brothers’, the election of scholars and their maintenance and education, together with the administration of the Estates and monies bequeathed to the Foundation by Sutton from the time of the first Assembly held on 30th June 1613 to the present day.
It is a unique record of people, places, laws, quarrels and development.
The Governors are a unique body, self-electing and self-perpetuating. Archbishops, Prime Ministers, Dukes, Earls, Law Lords, Doctors, Clerics and Teachers, all operating under a Royal Charter and confirmed by Act of Parliament.
The then comparatively newly established Foundation survived the Commonwealth (Cromwell was elected a Governor), and later the Governors were defying the King (James II) who wished to give a place to a Papist. There were revolts by scholars and public petitions by Brothers expelled for drunkenness, lewd behaviour, including ‘wearing swords’ at one time, and defiance of the Master.
There are records of leases and favouring practices; suspension of rents in hard times; evictions; indeed a full spectrum of history, social and economic. The records are remarkably complete in the early days and many researchers have come across references to particular individuals by name, three hundred and more years back.
The microfilming to preserve these remarkable records has been made possible by the generosity of the Esmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust to whom the Governors are much indebted.
9 reels
Reference: AOB
Contents
| Reel | Volume | Dates |
| 1 | A | 30th June 1613 to 11th July 1637 |
| B | 15th March 1637 to 20th May 1658 | |
| C | 1st November 1658 to 5th March 1698 | |
| 2 | D | 2nd November 1698 to 27th March 1739 |
| E | 6th July 1739 to 4th July 1760 | |
| F | 21st April 1761 to 10th May 1771 | |
| 3 | G | 1st August 1771 to 1st May 1779 |
| H | 15th May 1779 to 21st April 1795 | |
| 4 | I | 17th December 1795 to 15th April 1820 |
| K | 9th May 1820 to 27th June 1836 | |
| 5 | L | 9 June 1837 to 14th July 1846 |
| M | 10th May 1847 to 19th December 1854 | |
| 6 | N | 28th February 1855 to 23rd November 1861 |
| O | 4th February 1862 to 16th November 1869 | |
| 7 | P | 4th February 1870 to 29th November 1879 |
| Q | 13th February 1880 to 14th June 1898 | |
| 8 | R | 9th February 1899 to 7th May 1928 |
| S | 2nd July 1928 to 4th November 1946 | |
| 9 | T | 10th February 1947 to 5th May 1958 |
| U | 7th July 1958 to 7 July 1982 |