Dissolution of the Monasteries

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Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–40) Abolition of English monasticism in the reign of Henry VIII. The operation, managed by Thomas Cromwell, was a result of the break with Rome, but also provided additional revenue, since the monasteries owned c.25% of the land in England, all of which passed to the Crown. The smaller religious houses were closed in 1536, larger ones in 1538–40. The Dissolution caused social hardship, resentment and revolt, while providing estates for upwardly mobile gentry.

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