The Dissolution of the Monasteries

Henry VIII Giclee Print
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By Tudor times, in the 16th century, England and Wales had many abbeys and monasteries, some of which were great and influential institutions. They were large landowners and were instrumental in shaping the countryside with the way they managed their estates. They also built some of the country's finest religious buildings and sponsored great art. Additionally, they provided charity for the country's poor.

When these religious houses were established, it was with the intention of worshiping God and, to that end, the monks lived lives of piety, chastity and poverty. As the centuries passed, though, these high ideals had lapsed in some monasteries and the monks were living lives of luxury and debauchery.

While this was happening, Henry VIII, King of England, wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. He and his closest adviser, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, spent five years petitioning the Pope in Rome to get this done but without success. This failure led to Wolsey's downfall and in 1530 he was arrested for treason but died before coming to trial.

There were then a series of actions to pressure the Pope into granting the annulment including an Act of Parliament threatening to stop revenue from religious institutions and churches being sent to Rome, although it was not implemented. Henry then made Thomas Cranmer Archibishop of Canterbury and, in 1533, once the appointment was confirmed by the Pope, Cranmer granted Henry his much desired annulment. Henry then married Anne Boleyn and was excommunicated by the Pope.

Henry VIII was obviously not a man to take this lying down. A series of Acts of Parliament were passed including one making the King supreme head of the church (the Act of Supremacy 1534). This forced priests, other clergy and important men to swear allegiance to Henry as head of the church. Some men simply could not do this and were tried for treason and executed, the most famous of these being Sir Thomas More.

Portrait of Martin Luther 1543 Giclee Print
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Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries was not an original or unique act in the context of other European countries taking action against the orthodoxy of the Roman Catholic Church.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) is the best known of the Protestant reformers. He was a devout Augustinian monk in Germany dedicating his life to God but, at the same time, he was in a state of despair and depression. Of this time, he said, "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailor and hangman of my poor soul." Under order from his Superior, he studied then taught theology and became an ordained priest.

The more he studied the Bible, the more he became convinced that a true Christian did not need a priest or the Church to intervene for him with God. He saw the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and preached that salvation could only be given by personal faith in Jesus Christ.

He particularly disagreed with church doctrine that giving money to the church was a way for a man to save his soul. It came to a head when a papal commissioner was dispatched to Germany to sell Indulgences - a full or part forgiveness for sins committed. He wrote a paper on the subject, Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, usually known as The 95 Theses. In 1517 he nailed this paper to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, an event now seen as the beginning of the Protestant Revolution.

Martin Luther Writing on the Church Door at Wittenberg in 1517 Giclee Print
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The printing press, invented a 100 years earlier, played a crucial part in spreading Luther's ideas by printing the paper which was distributed, first through Germany, then throughout the rest of Europe. Luther went on to write a further paper On the Monastic Vows, published in 1521 in which he argued that monastic vows were actually immoral and meaningless.

Luther's writings acted as a spur and within a few years, the Protestant Revolution was underway. The Swiss city state of Zurich dissolved all monasteries after, a year earlier, pressurizing nuns to leave their convents and marry. Other Swiss states followed Zurich's lead.

In 1527 the Swedish King obtained authority to confiscate any monastic land deemed essential for the royal treasury and also to make monasteries return donations to the families of the donors. This effectively removed the wealth and income from religious establishments bringing about either their immediate or eventual ruin.

The King of Denmark acted a year later in 1528 by confiscating the houses of 15 of the country's most affluent monasteries. Later laws were passed to curtail the activities of monks leading to the disappearance of monks and nuns from the country within a few years.

Many great works of art and books were lost. Monastic libraries were destroyed and their books torn up or burnt.

This was not enough for Henry. Perhaps he truthfully believed that the monasteries were places of corruption but many were also very rich and he must have had his eye on their wealth too. The Act of Supremacy had given the King the right to send inspectors to the monasteries, abbeys and convents (the Visitation of the Monasteries) ostensibly to ensure that they were following the new rules of the English Protestant Church. This was overseen by Thomas Cromwell, by this time, one of the King's closest advisers.

While the inspectors were in the religious houses they carried out their main task: making an inventory and valuation of assets. Within six months the inspectors produced the Valor Ecclesiasticus, a detailed list of assets. They also had evidence of corruption and debauchery in the country's monasteries, including oppression of the poor, charging their tenants very high rents, running up huge debts to finance their lifestyle, and, last but not least, sexual immorality of all kinds.

Glastonbury Abbey, England
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Nowadays we are used to 'spin' from politicians but this isn't new, Henry started a propaganda campaign to prepare the people for the closure of monasteries by getting preachers to deliver sermons blackening the reputations of monks and nuns.

In 1536 an Act of Parliament was passed, as a result of the inspectors reports, allowing the King to close monasteries with annual incomes of less than £200. Unfortunately, this did not bring in as much money as was hoped. In 1539 another law was passed giving the King the power to close the remaining monasteries. The abbots and abbesses were required to sign over their institutions to the Crown. While many did, some refused and were tried for treason and executed.

So what happened to the buildings and wealth of the monasteries? Some of the buildings were destroyed, see the ruins at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire for example. Others were sold and the buildings converted into grand houses or demolished and new mansions built on the sites. All the money raised went to the King.

Many great works of art and books were lost. Monastic libraries were destroyed and their books torn up or burnt. Even the world famous Book of Kells was only saved because it was smuggled to safety.

Book of Kells - Illumination of the Chi Rho Page Poster
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There were less tangible losses. Many of the great religious houses ran schools and hospitals and it was the poor who suffered from their closure. Monastic charity to the needy also ceased and Poor Laws had to be introduced during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to replace that given by monasteries.

Unfortunately for Henry VIII, even getting rid of the great religious houses did not bring in as much money as he hoped. He was committed to giving pensions to dispossessed clerics and much of the land and property was sold for very low prices.

Now one can't help but wonder what England would be like if the Dissolution of the Monasteries had never taken place.

Here are some historic illustrations of religious establishments affected by the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

"The abbey at Battle commemorates the Battle of Hastings in which William the Conqueror defeated King Harold on 14th October, 1066, to become the King of England. The buildings were used as a school from approx. 1918 until 1976. It is now run by English Heritage." From Sussex Painted by Wilfrid Ball, 1906.

...the Benedictine Abbey which stood on the further side of [Elstow church]. This abbey was succeeded by a secular structure of the Renaissance period, considerable remains of which are still standing, its skeleton walls, bare windows, and stone archways making a very picturesque ruin. Peering over an adjacent wall are the gables and carved oak barge-boards of an old house that once belonged to the Hillersdons, whose monuments may be found in the church." From Quiet Roads and Sleepy Villages by Allan Fea, 1914.

The caption reads, History Preserving the Monuments of Antiquity. The side View of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island Monastery, Northumberland. Pub. 25 May 1781 by S. Hooper The image is signed, S. Spurrow sc.

"Death is represented as a naked winged man with a scythe, reaping away our past; History is a woman in a white dress, preventing him."

From The Antiquities of England and Wales by Francis Grose, 1783.

All pictures and captions from Liam Quin's Pictures From Old Books Web site.

Basingwork Abbey, Flintshire; drawn by H Gastineau; engraved by H. Jorden.
From The History of Wales by B.B. Woodward, 1853
Picture from Liam Quin's Pictures from Old Books Web site.

* Bardney Abbey (Benedictine)
* Barking Abbey (Benedictine)[1]
* Basingwerk Abbey (Cistercian)
* Bath Abbey (Benedictine)
* Battle Abbey (Benedictine)
* Beaulieu Abbey (Cistercian)
* Bisham Abbey (Augustinian)
* Blackfriars, Newcastle
* Bolton Abbey (Augustinian)
* Bourne Abbey (Arrouaisian/Augustinian)
* Boxgrove Priory (Benedictine)
* Bridlington Priory (Augustinian)
* Brinkburn Priory (Augustinian)
* Buckfast Abbey (Cistercian)
* Buckland Abbey (Cistercian)
* Buildwas Abbey (Cistercian)
* Byland Abbey (Cistercian)
* St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury (Benedictine)
* Castle Acre Priory (Cluniac)
* Canons Ashby Priory (Augustinian)
* Cartmel Priory (Augustinian)
* Charterhouse London (Carthusian)
* Christchurch Priory (Augustinian)
* Cleeve Abbey (Cistercian)
* Cirencester Abbey (Augustinian)
* Colchester Abbey (Benedictine)[2]
* Coventry - St Mary's Priory and Cathedral (Benedictine)
* Croyland Abbey (Benedictine)
* Delapré Abbey (Cluniac Nunnery)
* Dore Abbey (Cistercian)
* Dudley Priory (Cluniac)
* Dunstable Priory (Augustinian)
* Easby Abbey (Premonstratensian)
* Ewenny Priory (Benedictine)
* Folkestone Priory (Benedictine)
* Forde Abbey (Cistercian)
* Fountains Abbey (Cistercian)
* Furness Abbey (Cistercian)
* Glastonbury Abbey (Benedictine)
* Gloucester - St Peter's Abbey (Benedictine)
* Gisborough Priory (Augustinian)
* Hailes Abbey (Cistercian)
* Halesowen Abbey (Premonstratensian)
* Haltemprice Priory (Augustinian)
* Haughmond Abbey (Augustinian)
* Haverholme Priory (Cistercian)
* Hexham Abbey (Benedictine)
* Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate (Augustinian)
* Jarrow Priory (Benedictine)
* Jervaulx Abbey (Cistercian)
* Kirkstall Abbey (Cistercian)
* Lacock Abbey (Augustinian)

Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
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* Lanercost Priory (Augustinian)
* Lewes Priory (Cluniac)
* Lindisfarne Priory (Benedictine)
* Llanthony Priory (Augustinian)
* Malmesbury Abbey (Benedictine)
* Malvern Priory (Benedictine)
* Margam Abbey (Cistercian)
* Mattersey Priory (Gilbertine)
* Michelham Priory (Augustinian)
* Milton Abbey (Benedictine)
* Mount Grace Priory (Carthusian)
* Much Wenlock Priory (Cluniac)
* Neath Abbey (Cistercian)
* Netley Abbey (Cistercian)
* Newark Priory (Augustinian)
* Newminster Abbey (Cistercian)
* Newstead Abbey (Augustinian)
* Pershore Abbey (Benedictine)
* Reading Abbey (Cluniac)
* Revesby Abbey (Cistercian)
* Rievaulx Abbey (Cistercian)
* Roche Abbey (Cistercian)
* Romsey Abbey (Benedictine)
* Rufford Abbey (Cistercian)
* Rushen Abbey (Cistercian)
* St Albans Abbey (Benedictine)
* St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury (Benedictine)
* St Bartholomew's Priory - (Augustinian)
* St. Faith Priory (Benedictine)
* St Gregory's Priory, Canterbury (Augustinian)
* St Mary's Abbey, York (Benedictine)
* Selby Abbey (Benedictine)
* Sempringham Priory (Gilbertine)
* Shap Abbey (Premonstratensian)
* Shrewsbury Abbey (Benedictine)
* Strata Florida Abbey (Cistercian)
* Stratford Langthorne Abbey (Cistercian)[4]
* Syon Abbey London (Bridgettine)
* Talley Abbey (Premonstratensian)
* Tavistock Abbey (Benedictine)
* Tewkesbury Abbey (Benedictine)
* Thetford Priory (Cluniac)
* Thornton Abbey (Augustinian)
* Tintern Abbey (Cistercian)
* Titchfield Abbey (Premonstratensian)
* Tynemouth Priory (Benedictine)
* Vale Royal Abbey (Cistercian)
* Valle Crucis Abbey (Cistercian)
* Walsingham Priory (Augustinian)
* Waltham Abbey (Augustinian)
* Waverly Abbey (Cistercian)
* Welbeck Abbey (Premonstratensian)
* Westminster Abbey (Benedictine)
* Whitby Abbey (Benedictine)
* Woburn Abbey (Cistercian)
* Woodspring Priory (Augustinian)
* Worcester Priory (Benedictine)