MON
206
MON
houses of monks, friars, and nuns. The rest are more pro-perly called religious houses. See Abbey.
The houses belonging to the several religious orders, whichobtained ip England and Wales , were cathedrals, colleges,abbeys, priories, preceptories, commanderies, hospitals, fri-aries, hermitages, chantries, and free chapels. These wereunder the direction and management of several officers. Thedissolution of houses of this kind began so early as the year1312, when the Templars were suppressed; and in 1323,their lands, churches, advowsons, and liberties, here in Eng-land, were given, by 17 Edw. II. stat. 3, to the priory andbrethren of the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem . In theyears 1390, 1437, 1441, 1459, 1497, 1505, 1508, and 1515,several other houses were dissolved, and their revenues set-tled on different colleges in Oxford and Cambridge. Soonafter the last period, Cardinal Wolsey , by license of the kingand pope, obtained a dissolution of above thirty religiousbouses, for the founding and endowing his colleges at Oxfordand Ipswich . About the same time, a bull was granted bythe same pope to Cardinal Wolsey , to suppress monasteries,where there were not above six monks, to the value of 8,000ducats a year, for endowing Windsor, and King’s College , inCambridge ; and two other bulls were granted to CardinalsWolsey and Campeius, where there were less than twelvemonks, and to annex them to the greater monasteries ; andanother bull to the same cardinals, to inquire about abbeys tobe suppressed, in order to be made cathedrals. Althoughnothing appears to have been done in consequence of thesebulls, the motive which induced Wolsey , and many others, tosuppress these houses, was the desire of promoting learning ;and Archbishop Cranmer engaged in it with a view of carry-ing on the Reformation. There were other causes that con-curred to bring on their ruin : many of the devotees wereloose and vicious ; the monks were generally thought to be,in their hearts, attached to the pope’s supremacy; their reve-nues were not employed according to the intent of the donors;many cheats in images, feigned miracles, and counterfeitrelics, had been discovered, which brought the monks intodisgrace; the Observant friars had opposed the king’s divorcefrom Queen Catharine ; and these circumstances operated, inconcurrence with the king’s want of a large supply, and thepeople’s desire to save their money, to forward a motion inparliament, that, in order to support the king’s state, andsupply his wants, all the religious houses might be conferredupon the crown, which were not able to spend above £200 ayear; and an act was passed for that purpose, 27 Hen . VIII.c. 28. By this about 380 houses were dissolved, and a reve-nue of £30,000 or £32,000 a year came to the crown; besidesabout £100,000 in plate and jewels. The suppression ofthese houses occasioned great discontent, and at length anopen rebellion : when this was appeased, the king resolvedto suppress the rest of the monasteries, and appointed a newvisitation ; which caused the greater abbeys to be surrenderedapace; and it was enacted by 31 Hen . VIII. c. 13, that allmonasteries, which have been surrendered since the 4th ofFebruary, in the twenty-seventh year of his majesty’s reign,and which hereafter shall be surrendered, shall be vested inthe king. The knights of St. John of Jerusalem were alsosuppressed by the 32 Henry VIII . c. 24. The suppressionof these greater houses by these two acts, produced a revenueto the king of above £100,000 a year, besides a large sum inplate and jewels. The last act of dissolution, in this king’sreign, was the act of 37 Hen . VIII. c. 4, for dissolving col-leges, free chapels, chantries, &c., which act was fartherenforced by 1 Ed. VI. c. 14. By this act were suppressed90 colleges, 110 hospitals, and 2,374 chantries and free cha-pels. The number of houses and places suppressed, from
first to last, so far as any calculations appear to havemade, seems to be as follows :
Of lesser monasteries, of which we have the valuation
Of greater monasteries.
Belonging to the hospitallers .
Colleges.
Hospitals .
Chantries and free chapels .
Total.
bee»
37 i1864890
11 o0*
3 j82
Besides the friars’ houses, and those suppressed by ^and many small houses, of which we have no pai' tlCaccount. r3 l
The sum total of the clear yearly revenue of the s ® ^houses, at the time of their dissolution, of which W eany account, seems to be as follows :
£.
Of the greater monasteries . 104,919
Of all those of the lesser monasteries, of
which we have the valuation . 29,702
13
1
si
Knights hospitallers’head house in London We have the valuation of only twenty-eight of their houses in the country...Friars’ houses, of which we have thevaluation .
2,385
1
12
1 oi
S
3,026 9
751
Total. 140,784
19
If proper allowances are made for the lesser monasand houses not included in this estimate, and for the p' j u .&c., which came into the hands of the king by the <*■tion, and for the value of money at that time, which ^least six times as much as at present, and we also co ^that the estimate of the lands was generally suppo 9 ®much under the real worth, we must conclude theirrevenues to have been immense. ^ee 11
It doth not appear that any computation hat 1made of the number of persons contained in the ie °houses.
Those of the lesser monasteries dissolved by 27 Hen . jq ^OO
VIII. were reckoned at about .
If we suppose the colleges and hospitals to have con-tained a proportionable number, these will make
about .••••
If we reckon the number in the greater monasteries,according to the proportion of their revenues, theywill be about 35,000 ; but as probably they hadlarger allowances in proportion to their numberthan those of the lesser monasteries, if we abateupon that account 5,000, they will then be...'
One for each chantry and free chapel .
iM 1
3 0-°^
2,^
Total.
But as there were probably more than one P e 0 tliriofficiate in several of the free chapels, and tlier(! .p® r 'houses which are not included within this calcula ^haps they may be computed in one general estimate e a
almost an
50,000. As there were pensions paid to
r _ , .. . te jy co"
the greater monasteries, the king did not immedia
ihoP*
it )* 1
into the full enjoyment of their whole revenues • ^ ^js- ^by means of what he did receive, he founded six n f \
rics, viz., those of Westminster, (which was change® ^Elizabeth into a deanery, with twelve prebends an 0^°\ }iPeterborough, Chester, Gloucester, Bristol, anAnd in eight other sees he founded deaneries an