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Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40

The dissolution of the monasteries

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2 booklet B

Overview

What monasteries did for their neighbours, the crown's need for money, the political danger, the 1535 reports, the closures of 1536 and 1538–40, who gained, who lost and the fate of the buildings.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What spiritual service did religious houses provide?

Key term

Why did monasteries look like a political danger after 1534?

Key term

What did Cromwell’s commissioners report in 1535?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did monasteries do for the people living around them?

    Model answer

    They gave alms to the poor, nursed the sick, lodged travellers and taught boys, and as great landowners they employed many local people.

  2. 2

    What spiritual service did religious houses provide?

    Model answer

    Monks and nuns prayed for the souls of the dead, and people left money and land so that masses would be said for them.

  3. 3

    What was the strongest reason for closing the monasteries?

    Model answer

    Their wealth: the crown was short of money and the religious houses held huge estates, rents and treasure.

  4. 4

    Why did monasteries look like a political danger after 1534?

    Model answer

    Monks owed obedience to international orders and to the pope, so they were an obvious focus for resistance to the king’s headship.

  5. 5

    What did Cromwell’s commissioners report in 1535?

    Model answer

    One survey recorded the wealth of every house, and the visitors sent round that year reported idleness, corruption and immorality, especially in the smaller houses.

  6. 6

    What did the act of 1536 order?

    Model answer

    The closure of the smaller religious houses, those worth less than £200 a year.

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