convent or house built for the reception of religious; whether it be abbey, priory, nunnery, or the like.

Monastery is only properly applied to the houses of monks, mendicant friars, and nuns. The rest are more properly called religious houses. For the origin of monasteries, see Monastic and Monk.

The houses belonging to the several religious orders which obtained in England and Wales were, cathedrals, colleges, abbeys, priories, preceptories, commandries, hospitals, friaries, hermitages, chantries, and free chapels. These were under the direction and management of various officers. The dissolution of houses of this kind began so early as the 1312, when the Templars were suppressed; and in 1323 their lands, churches, advowsons, and liberties, here in England, were given by 17 Ed. II. st. 3. to the prior and brethren of the hospital of St John at Jerusalem. In the years 1390, 1437, 1441, 1459, 1497, 1505, 1508, and 1515, several other houses were dissolved, and their revenues settled on different colleges in Oxford and Cambridge. Soon after the last period, Cardinal Wolsey, by license of the king and pope, obtained a dissolution of above 30 religious houses for the founding and endowing his colleges at Oxford and Ipswich. About the same time a bull was granted by the same pope to Cardinal Wolsey to suppress monasteries, where there were not above six monks, to the value of 8000 ducats a-year, for endowing Windsor and King's College in Cambridge; and two other bulls were granted to Cardinals Wolsey and Campeius, where there were less than twelve monks, and to annex them to the greater monasteries; and another bull to the same cardinals to inquire about abbeys to be suppressed in order to be made cathedrals. Although nothing appears to have been done in consequence of these bulls, the motive which induced Wolsey and many others to suppress these houses was the desire of promoting learning; and Archbishop Cranmer engaged in it with a view of carrying on the reformation. There were other causes that concurred to bring on their ruin: many of the religious were loose and vicious; the monks were generally thought to be in their hearts attached to the pope's supremacy; their revenues were not employed according to the intent of the donors; many cheats in images, spurious miracles, and counterfeit relics, had been discovered, which brought the monks into disrepute; the Observant friars had opposed the king's divorce from Queen Catherine; and these circumstances operated, in concurrence with the king's want of a supply and the people's desire to save their money, to forward a motion in parliament, that in order to support the king's state and supply his wants, all the religious houses might be conferred upon the crown which were not able to spend above 200l. a-year; and an act was passed for that purpose 27 Hen. VIII. c. 28. By this act about 380 houses were Monastery dissolved, and a revenue of 30,000l. or 32,000l. a-year came to the crown; besides about 100,000l. in plate and jewels. The suppression of these houses occasioned discontent, and at length an open rebellion: when this was appealed, the king resolved to suppress the rest of the monasteries, and appointed a new visitation: which caused the greater abbeys to be surrendered apace; and it was enacted by 31 Hen. VIII. c. 13, that all monasteries, &c. which have been surrendered since the 4th of February, in the 27th year of his majesty's reign, and which hereafter shall be surrendered, shall be vested in the king. The knights of St John of Jerusalem were also suppressed by the 32 Hen. VIII. c. 24. The suppression of these greater houses by these two acts produced a revenue to the king of above 100,000l. a-year, besides a large sum in plate and jewels. The last act of dissolution in this king's reign was the act of 37 Hen. VIII. c. 4. for dissolving colleges, free chapels, chantries, &c. which act was farther enforced by 1 Edw. VI. c. 14. By this act were suppressed 90 colleges, 110 hospitals, and 2374 chantries and free chapels. The number of houses and places suppressed from first to last, so far as any calculations appear to have been made, seems to be as follow:

| Of lesser monasteries, of which we have the valuation | 374 | | Of greater monasteries | 186 | | Belonging to the hospitalers | 48 | | Colleges | 90 | | Hospitals | 110 | | Chantries and free chapels | 2374 |

Total 3182

Besides the friars houses and those suppressed by Wolsey, and many small houses of which we have no particular account.

The sum total of the clear yearly revenue of the several houses at the time of their dissolution, of which we have any account, seems to be as follow:

| Of the greater monasteries | L. 104,919 13 3½ | | Of all those of the lesser monasteries of which we have the valuation | 29,702 1 10½ | | Knights hospitalers head house in London | 2385 12 8 | | We have the valuation of only 28 of their houses in the country | 3026 9 5 | | Friars houses of which we have the valuation | 751 2 0½ |

Total L. 140,786 19 3½

If proper allowances are made for the lesser monasteries and houses not included in this estimate, and for the plate, &c. which came into the hands of the king by the dissolution, and for the value of money at that time, which was at least five times as much as at present, and also consider that the estimate of the lands was generally supposed to be much under the real worth, we must conclude their whole revenues to have been immense.

It does not appear that any computation hath been made of the number of persons contained in the religious houses.

Thos. Monastery. Those of the lesser monasteries dissolved by 27 Hen. VIII. were reckoned at about 10,000.

If we suppose the colleges and hospitals to have contained a proportionable number, these will make about 5347.

If we reckon the number in the greater monasteries, according to the proportion of their revenues, they will be about 35,000; but as probably they had larger allowances in proportion to their number than those of the lesser monasteries, if we abate upon that account 5000, they will then be 30,000.

One for each chantry and free chapel, 2374.

Total 47,721.

But as there were probably more than one person to officiate in several of the free chapels, and there were other houses which are not included within this calculation, perhaps they may be computed in one general estimate at about 50,000. As there were pensions paid to almost all those of the greater monasteries, the king did not immediately come into the full enjoyment of their whole revenues: however, by means of what he did receive, he founded six new bishoprics, viz. those of Westminster (which was changed by Queen Elizabeth into a deanery, with twelve prebends and a school), Peterborough, Chester, Gloucester, Bristol, and Oxford. And in eight other sees he founded deaneries and chapters, by converting the priors and monks into deans and prebendaries, viz. Canterbury, Winchester, Durham, Worcester, Rochester, Norwich, Ely, and Carlisle. He founded also the colleges of Christ-church in Oxford and Trinity in Cambridge, and finished King's college there. He likewise founded professorships of divinity, law, physic, and of the Hebrew and Greek tongues, in both the said universities. He gave the house of Greyfriars and St Bartholomew's hospital to the city of London, and a perpetual pension to the poor knights of Windsor, and laid out great sums in building and fortifying many ports in the channel. It is observable, upon the whole, that the dissolution of these houses was an act, not of the church, but of the state; in the period preceding the Reformation, by a king and parliament of the Roman catholic communion in all points except the king's supremacy; to which the pope himself, by his bulls and licences, had led the way.