The forced closure of England's monasteries, convents and friaries between 1536 and 1541 under Henry VIII, carried out through acts of Parliament and led in practice by Thomas Cromwell. Crown commissioners surveyed and valued each religious house's income and possessions, the crown then dissolved the houses and seized their land, buildings and valuables, redistributing or selling most of the property to the nobility and gentry.
Facts
The Event
When It Happened1536 to 1541. The 1535 Valor Ecclesiasticus survey preceded and informed the process; the Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries followed in 1536, targeting religious houses with an annual income under 200 pounds, and the larger houses, Glastonbury Abbey among them, were dissolved between 1538 and 1541. 1 Where It HappenedEngland and Wales, under the authority of the Kingdom of England. 1 Principal PartiesKing Henry VIII, who authorized the dissolution partly to fund the crown and resolve his break with Rome, and Thomas Cromwell, his chief minister, who directed the 1535 Valor Ecclesiasticus survey and oversaw the dissolution's administration. 1 Consequences
What It SettledThe World History Encyclopedia records that the crown gained roughly 1.3 million pounds from the dissolution, against a pre-dissolution English church annual income Cromwell's Valor Ecclesiasticus put as high as 360,000 pounds; much of the seized land was subsequently sold off cheaply to the nobility and gentry, or spent on foreign wars, rather than retained by the crown. 1 Status
Legal StatusCarried out through acts of the English Parliament: the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535/36 (the 1536 Act) dissolving smaller monasteries, followed by further acts and voluntary or coerced surrenders extending through the larger houses by 1541. 1 Dissolution of the Monasteries
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Sources
1. Dissolution of the Monasteries (World History Encyclopedia)
Dissolution of the monasteries (Wikipedia)
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