The dissolution of the monasteries, occasionally referred to as the suppression of the monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541, by which Henry VIII disbanded Catholic monasteries, priories, convents, and friaries in England, Wales, and Ireland; seized their wealth; disposed of their assets, and provided for their former personnel and functions.
St Benet's Abbey, also known as St Benet's at Holme or St Benet Hulme, was a medieval monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict situated at Cow Holm in Horning, Norfolk, England. It lay on the River Bure within the Broads. St Benet is a medieval English version of the name of St Benedict of Nursia, hailed as the founder of western monasticism. At the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries the abbey's possessions were in effect seized by the crown and assigned to the diocese of Norwich. Though the monastery was supposed to continue as a community, within a few years at least the monks had dispersed. Today there remain only ruins.
Ramsey Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, England. It was founded about AD 969 and dissolved in 1539.
Shaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was founded in about 888, and dissolved in 1539 during the English Reformation by the order of Thomas Cromwell, minister to King Henry VIII. At the time it was the second-wealthiest nunnery in England, behind only Syon Abbey.
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most serious of all Tudor period rebellions", it was a protest against Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church, the dissolution of the lesser monasteries, and the policies of the King's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, as well as other specific political, social, and economic grievances.
Godstow is a hamlet about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. A bridge spans the Thames and the Trout Inn is at the foot of the bridge across the river from the abbey ruins. There is also a weir and Godstow lock.
Thetford Priory is a Cluniac monastic house in Thetford, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1103 by Roger Bigod of Norfolk, Thetford was one of the most important monasteries of East Anglia.
St Mary's Abbey, also known as Malling Abbey, is an abbey of Anglican Benedictine nuns located in West Malling, Kent, England. It was founded around 1090 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester and dissolved in 1538. The site became a monastery again in the late 19th century.
Walsingham Priory was a monastery of Augustinian Canons regular in Walsingham, Norfolk, England seized by the crown at the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.
Barlings Abbey was a one of nine Premonstratensian monasteries in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It was founded in 1154, as a daughter house of the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Martial in Newsham.
Tupholme Abbey was a Premonstratensian abbey close to the River Witham some 10.5 miles (16.9 km) east of the city of Lincoln, England and one of nine such abbeys within the historical county. The Witham valley in Lincolnshire is notable for its high concentration of monasteries—there were six on the east bank and three on the west—all presumably drawn to the area by the usefulness of the River Witham for transport and by the wealth that it transported. The abbey was largely destroyed by 1538, after being seized during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Newark Priory is a ruined priory on an island surrounded by the River Wey and its former leat near the boundary of the village of Ripley and Pyrford in Surrey, England.
Pentney is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, located about 8 miles (13 km) south east of King's Lynn placing it about halfway between King's Lynn and Swaffham on the A47 road. It covers an area of 10.39 km2 (4.01 sq mi) and had a population of 387 in 184 households at the 2001 census, increasing to 544 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. It is in the valley of the River Nar, a tributary of the River Great Ouse.
William Barlow was an English Augustinian prior turned bishop of four dioceses, a complex figure of the Protestant Reformation. Aspects of his life await scholarly clarification. Labelled by some a "weathercock reformer", he was in fact a staunch evangelical, an anti-Catholic and collaborator in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and dismantling of church estates; and largely consistent in his approach, apart from an early anti-Lutheran tract and a supposed recantation under Mary I. He was one of the four consecrators and the principal consecrator of Matthew Parker, as archbishop of Canterbury in 1559.
Robert Steward was an English cleric who served as the last prior of the Benedictine Ely Abbey, in Cambridgeshire, and as the first Dean of Ely Cathedral which replaced it at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Caldwell Priory was a priory of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre in Bedfordshire, England, from c. 1154 to 1536. It was situated in the south-west of Bedford on the south bank of the River Great Ouse.
Sempringham Priory was a priory in Lincolnshire, England, located in the medieval hamlet of Sempringham, to the northwest of Pointon. Today, all that remains of the priory is a marking on the ground where the walls stood and a square, which are identifiable only in aerial photos of the vicinity. However, the parish church of St Andrew's, built around 1100 AD, is witness to the priory standing alone in a field away from the main road.
Wendling Abbey was monastic house in Norfolk, England. The Abbey once stood on marshy ground near a small rivulet which runs to the south. The abbey and outbuildings covered approximately two acres of ground, it stood on ten acres of land and was founded by one of Henry III judges called William de Wendling in the year 1265.
The Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis, more commonly known as Leicester Abbey, was an Augustinian religious house in the city of Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and grew to become the wealthiest religious establishment within Leicestershire. Through patronage and donations the abbey gained the advowsons of countless churches throughout England, and acquired a considerable amount of land, and several manorial lordships. Leicester Abbey also maintained a cell at Cockerham Priory, in Lancashire. The Abbey's prosperity was boosted through the passage of special privileges by both the English Kings and the Pope. These included an exemption from sending representatives to parliament and from paying tithe on certain land and livestock. Despite its privileges and sizeable landed estates, from the late 14th century the abbey began to suffer financially and was forced to lease out its estates. The worsening financial situation was exacerbated throughout the 15th century and early 16th century by a series of incompetent, corrupt and extravagant abbots. By 1535 the abbey's considerable income was exceeded by even more considerable debts.
Dodford Priory was a small Augustinian monastery in the parish of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire in the current village of Dodford.
