The Charterhouse of Jerez de la Frontera architecture is of a Late Gothic style, corresponding to the start of construction in the 15th century, with Baroque aspects dating from the 17th century. The building, completed in the 17th century, has been designated by the Spanish government as an Historic-Artistic Monument.
The impulse behind the monastery dates back to Alvaro Obertos de Valeto, a knight of Genovese descent, appointed during the Reconquista by Alfonso X of Castile to defend the city shortly Alfonso had conquered it from Muslim rule in 1264. Lacking descendants, he left his fortune to establish a Carthusian monastery in the city. It was not until 1475 that this location near the Guadalete River was chosen, of special significance because in 1368 it has been the site of a victorious battle against invaders; the victory was attributed to intercession by the Virgin Mary, to whom a hermitage had been dedicated on the site, under the name Nuestra Señora de la Defensión ('Our Lady of the Defense'), which was adopted also for the monastery.
The Renaissance entryway, designed by Andrés de Ribera, is of particular interest, as are the Chapel of Santa María, and the small Gothic cloister designed by Juan Martínez Montañés. The choir stalls are by Juan de Oviedo de la Bandera (1565–1625); they were originally made for the Convento-Iglesia de la Merced in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and were transferred to the monastery in 1960. The paintings by Juan de la Roelas currently at the monastery also come from that church. Conversely, the Museo de Cádiz preserves numerous paintings by Francisco Zurbarán that were originally from the monastery.
Nowadays, the Sisters of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin, and of Saint Bruno continue the long Roman Catholic monastic and spiritual tradition that had been carried on more than five centuries by the Carthusian fathers.
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