Dissolution of the Monasteries

Why did early Christian men want to live in secluded communities? What made these earlymonasteries successful and how did they spread over the Middle East to Europe? Aftersurviving and thriving for well over five hundred years, why were the monasteries in Englandand Wales all closed down? And what happened to these properties afterwards? Before they were closed, monasteries were not just vital and thriving centres of spiritual worship; they were also practically rooted in their communities, places of employment, education, welfare and culture. The dissolution of the monasteries was a change of almost unrivalled magnitude.It is easy to be distracted by the lure of the behaviour of King Henry VIII and the high politics ofthe Reformation and forget what was going on for ordinary people. The closure of more thaneight hundred religious houses saw a massive transfer of property, which reshaped Wales andEngland's socioeconomic landscape. While it enriched the Crown and the nobility, it also ledto increased poverty and the loss of social services previously provided by the monasteries. Come with me on a journey through the stories of some of the people who were, and forsome,stillare, associated with the monasteries.