Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2016
Last exams 2025
Religious Houses & The Dissolution of the Monasteries (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
How Important were Monasteries in Tudor England? - Summary
Monasteries played a significant role in Tudor England. In 1509, England had 800 religious houses containing over 10,000 monks and nuns. Monasteries provided essential services to their surrounding communities, including education, healthcare and charity. Monasteries owned vast amounts of land and wealth. This gave them influence in Tudor society. Monasteries preserved knowledge through the copying and storing of manuscripts. This was important for England's history and culture. In 1536, Henry VIII ordered the closure of monasteries. He seized their land and wealth. He justified his actions by claiming financial concerns and needing to consolidate royal power. The monasteries' riches made the Crown very wealthy. Henry used the money to fund his wars and expensive lifestyle. Nobles also gained former Church land, strengthening their loyalty to Henry. The dissolution of the monasteries had social impacts. Monks and nuns became homeless. Many religious members struggled to adapt to life outside of the Church. Communities also lacked vital services previously provided by the monasteries. This led to social unrest and economic issues in some areas. |
Types of Religious Houses
Most of Tudor England's religious houses had existed since Medieval times
Different religious orders ran different religious houses
They had unique rules which nuns and monks had to follow
Types of religious buildings in Tudor England
Size of religious building | Name of religious building | Who controlled the building? |
|---|---|---|
Large | Abbey | An abbot (a monk) or an abbess (nun) |
Medium | Priory | A monk |
Nunnery | A nun | |
Small | Friary | A monk |
Impact of Religious Houses on Communities
The Church made a significant amount of money from monasteries
Monasteries owned around a third of all of the land in England
Monasteries could rent this land to small landholders
Members of the monasteries:
Grew crops such as wheat
Made products like wine
The monks sold these goods to the community
Around 20 monasteries in England each earned £1,000 a year
This was the same level of wealth as the nobility
Functions of the monasteries
Function | How did monasteries improve Tudor England? |
|---|---|
Religious | Monasteries were places where men (monks) and women (nuns) devoted their lives to God. They prayed every day in service of others, for example, chantries. Nuns and monks showed their commitment by being poor, chaste and following Christian teachings |
Economic | Larger monasteries acted like businesses. They rented plots out to landowners. Some monasteries hired people in the local community to help maintain their estates |
Medical | Monasteries provided hospitals for the local community. They provided care rather than cures for sick patients |
Educational | The nobility often sent their sons to monasteries to receive an education. Monasteries were places of knowledge. Monks wrote and stored manuscripts and books |
Social | Monasteries provided help for the most vulnerable people in Tudor England. They gave support to the poor, widows, elderly noblemen and some people with terminal illnesses. Monasteries provided a safe place for travellers, criminals or those who felt unsafe |
Administrative | Some monks helped the government. They ran church courts which helped with law and order. Around 30 monks were members of the House of Lords |
Reasons for the Dissolution of the Monasteries
After Henry's break from Rome in 1534, the government began to consider the dissolution (or closing down) of the monasteries
In private, Henry continued to be a Catholic
It was political and economic reasons, not religious, which persuaded him to begin to dissolve the monasteries
Worked Example
Explain why the religious houses were dissolved in the 1530s
12 marks
Partial answer:
One reason why the religious houses were dissolved was for political reasons. Henry VIII felt that many monks and nuns were more loyal to the Pope than the king because of their strong Catholic faith. This motivated Henry to close the monasteries because he could not allow sections of the Church to undermine his royal supremacy. By closing down the monasteries, Henry would have stronger control of the Church and less opposition. Therefore, Henry felt it was vital for his position as king to dissolve the religious houses.
Exam Tip
This is the beginning of this answer. To complete this question, you need to write two more paragraphs. These could be in the PEEL format. You could focus these paragraphs on:
The economic motivations. Henry wanted the wealth that the monasteries possessed
The religious motivations. Cromwell and Cranmer wanted to implement Protestant reforms to the Church
How Did Henry Dissolve the Monasteries?
Impact of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Positive consequences | Negative consequences |
|---|---|
Cromwell and Cranmer achieved their aims. The dissolution of the monasteries was a step towards a Protestant Church in England | Monks lost their purpose. Some monks were re-employed by the Church. Other monks fell into unemployment and poverty |
Henry VIII became very wealthy. He was financially independent from parliament | Nuns lost their purpose. Nuns struggled more than monks because they could not work in churches or marry. Many nuns had to beg to survive |
The dissolution of the monasteries reduced the Church's opposition to Henry's supremacy | English Catholics could no longer ask monasteries to conduct services like chantries. This impacted their ability to practice their faith |
The nobility gained land either as a gift from the king or purchased cheaply from the Church. The nobility could earn money from this land by farming or renting the land | Tenant farmers, who had rented the land from monasteries, now had noblemen as their landowners. Nobles raised the rent or took the land away from tenant farmers |
The government re-purposed some monasteries. For example, Westminster Abbey became a cathedral | The destruction of monasteries meant that England lost their architecture and artefacts. Their libraries were destroyed, losing valuable knowledge |
Cathedral grammar schools and university colleges replaced monasteries. This gave a more secular education | The most vulnerable people in society suffered the most. They no longer had the support that they needed. Many people fell into vagrancy or became ill |
Exam Tip
The dissolution of the monasteries had wider consequences, which you may need to know for a 12 or 16-mark exam question. Ensure that you link this knowledge to the Pilgrimage of Grace to explain the social consequences of Henry closing down religious houses.
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