Dissolution of the Monasteries

Dissolution of the Monasteries. Though there was some criticism of the monasteries in the later Middle Ages, Henry VIII abolished the system for personal motives, including the need to replenish his treasury. The Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 (passed in 1536) ordered the suppression of all religious houses having an annual value of less than £200; some 250 were involved. After the defeat of the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536–7), to which the popularity of the monasteries had contributed, royal agents toured the country to obtain individual surrenders of the remaining monasteries and nunneries. The remaining friaries were suppressed in 1538. The Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1539 completed the process by vesting in the Crown all monasteries that had been or should be surrendered; the last house surrendered in 1540. Apart from the friars, most religious were pensioned. The bulk of the proceeds passed from the Crown to the nobility and gentry, though part was used to found six new dioceses.