The club was formed from the former pupils of
Charterhouse School in
Godalming, Surrey, Reports in the press of games taking place at the school had appeared since March 1853 and Charterhouse had been one of the founding teams of
The Football Association. It was one of several clubs formed from the
old boys of
public schools in England during the 19th century. Other clubs formed in similar circumstances include
Old Etonians and
Old Westminsters. Other former members of the school had previously founded Stoke-on-Trent F.C. in 1867, which would go on to be known as
Stoke City. Old Carthusians entered the
FA Cup for the first time in
1879–80. Old Carthusians became one of only four clubs to win the FA Cup in the first eleven years it was awarded when they won the trophy in 1881, defeating the aforementioned Old Etonians. In 1883, they reached the semi-finals once more, and lost to
Blackburn Olympic in a game which marked a change in football during the late 19th century away from the old boys clubs that had been so successful over the game's first real decade, to that of the working man's clubs. Prior to the first final, where they defeated
Casuals 2–1, an argument broke out over the use of
penalties. An Old Carthusian spokesman said, "Penalties are an unpleasant indication that our conduct and honesty are not all it should be." In 1894 they were invited to join the newly formed
Southern League along with a number of team including fellow old boys club
Old Westminsters. The old boys teams refused to join the new league and tried to convince the
2nd Scots Guards to leave the league as well. Following the use of amateur sides as proving grounds for future professional players, the old boys clubs became isolated and broke away from the FA Amateur Cup to form the
Arthur Dunn Cup in 1902–03. This was a replay of the very first title in 1903, when the Carthusians and Salopians shared the title after a drawn replay. By the time of the centenary, the Old Carthusians were the most successful team in the competition having won it on 19 occasions out of 24 finals reached Along with
Wimbledon, and
Royal Engineers the Old Carthusians are one of only three teams to have ever won both the FA Cup and the FA Amateur Cup. In 2011 the Old Carthusians reached the final of the AFA Senior Cup, a historic achievement for a 'closed club'. However, having been two goals up at half time, they went on to lose the game to the Old Salesians 3–2. Old Carthusians went on to win another two Arthurian League title and Arthur Dunn Cup doubles. Following their 1–0 win over long-time rivals Lancing Old Boys in the 2015 Arthur Dunn Cup Final, the Old Carthusians made Arthurian League history by finally winning the 'Treble-Double' – winning the Arthurian League Premier Division and the Arthur Dunn Cup in the same year for three successive years. The 'Treble-Double' had only been achieved by one team before – Lancing Old Boys in the 1980s. The Old Carthusians, however, added an additional trophy to the traditional 'Double' in each such year by also winning the Jim Dixson Trophy, meaning that the Old Carthusians had eclipsed the Lancing Old Boys team of the 1980s and achieved the unique accolade of having won the 'Treble-Treble'. ==Colours==