Through the keyhole

Hull trawlerman Albert Smith used to look like a classic Hollywood movie star. You can see that from photographs given pride of place by his widow in her flat at the Charterhouse. Yes, recalls Johanna, people compared him to Cary Grant.

Married for over 50 years, they moved to Inverness, her hometown, in 1990. Albert died eight years later and Johanna decided to return to Hull. But she didn't feel at ease in the council flat she was allocated and so was delighted to transfer to the Charterhouse. "I love it here. You have peace and you feel safe," she says.

Poetic Justice: the commemorative plaque.

Through the personal histories of residents like Johanna, 77, and its own 600-year history, the Charterhouse is a place where you become more than usually aware of 'time's winged chariot' - to borrow a quote from one of its 17th century occupants, Andrew Marvell. His father was a Master of the Charterhouse and as a boy the poet played under a mulberry tree that still stands in the communal garden.

This green patch off Wincolmlee is an unexpected beauty spot on the industrial landscape. Meanwhile, the 1777 Chapel and the Master's House make a winning double of fine Georgian architecture that quietly outshines the bright lights of a nearby casino. Yet despite its long association with Hull, the Charterhouse remains a mystery to many people. Is it a charity? A church? Something to do with the City Council?

Master of the house: Reverend Canon Stephen Deas.

Elements of all three come into the equation. Medieval sheltered accommodation, is the description offered by today's Master, the Reverend Canon Stephen Deas. He doesn't mean that the facilities are antiquated, but that the Charterhouse was founded as an almshouse during the Middle Ages. The original buildings were levelled during the Civil War and today the 34 apartments located in the complex straddling Charterhouse Lane have most mod cons plus the support of a matron and her assistant.

Unfurnished, they are available at a weekly maintenance charge for people aged over 60 who, he says, feel a need for the measure of shelter which is provided while being fully capable of independent living. He adds: "I mean 'need' in the widest sense and not just according to their bank balance. "It's not a nursing home, nor a residential home; people have to be capable of cooking their own meals. Within the bounds of good neighbourliness, they are entirely free to live their lives as they wish. "If people become infirm, their relatives help them to move on. Yet once here, they very often live here happily ever after."

Place called home: Johanna Smith with a picture of husband Albert

He agrees the Charterhouse has a surprisingly low profile: "Charities operate best when they operate discreetly. Also this is not a part of Hull, strangely enough, of which many people are aware. I sometimes call it the village hidden within the city." Born in Tibthorpe, educated at Pocklington School and Oxford University, Canon Deas worked as a classics teacher in South Wales before becoming a Church of England clergyman in 1982.

He returned to this area eight years ago on being appointed the 38th Master. President of the local branch of the Classical Association and chairman of the Georgian Society, he is fascinated by history and has a textbook knowledge of that of the Charterhouse. Sitting in his academic's living room, he adds: "It was founded on this site in 1384 by Michael de la Pole, first Earl of Suffolk, a Hull boy made good. It was conceived by his father, William, and founded after his death by Michael as a house for poor people, aged people, and people who had fallen on hard times.

There is perhaps among elderly people no longer the indigent poverty that there was in the Middle Ages but there are still people who appreciate a measure of shelter. "You could say the modern concept of sheltered housing is a development of the medieval idea of an almshouse." Although today's residents have various reasons for living here, several of the founder's instructions are still followed and income from his endowment of land and property still makes it all possible. He wished Masters to be ordained, aged over 30, and that the community should gather for a church service every Sunday. That's still the case, although nobody is excluded on grounds of religion whenever vacancies arise, as they recently have.

It's in the gift of the Lord Mayor of Hull and City Council to select the residents and the Master. The right was granted to their predecessors in 1552 by King Edward VI as a thank you for services to the Crown. Links between the Charterhouse and the local authority were further strengthened by the setting up of a board of nine trustees, five of whom are nominated by the council.

Says Canon Deas: "It's a great help that at least some of our trustees are members of the City Council. When the scheme to create the board of trustees was drawn up in the 19th century, the intention was to recognise legitimate interests. The city has always had a large legitimate interest in the fortunes of the Charterhouse. This was Michael de la Pole's great gift to Hull and it was meant to be used for the benefit of Hull people."

Anyone interested in living at the Charterhouse should contact Lynne Ellis at the Guildhall for an application form: 01482 615011