Event    From 1536  To 1541

dissolution of the monasteries

In 1534, for reasons not only to do with his marital situation, Henry VIII broke with Rome, the Pope and the Catholic Church. At the time the Catholic monasteries (and abbeys, priories, convents and friaries) owned over a quarter of all the cultivated land in England. Henry declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England and as such he had the authority to do what he wanted with all this church estate. He started with the extremely valuable shrines, closing them and taking possession of their assets. On 17 December 1538 the Pope retaliated by excommunicating Henry. Henry continued his plunder and pillage, breaking up over 850 monasteries in total.

Plaques commemorating monasteries often don't mention how they were destroyed but here is a list of those that we have found so far in London: Holy Trinity Priory, Greyfriars Monastery, Hospital of St Anthony, Bermondsey Abbey, Blackfriars Priory, Charterhouse, Holywell Priory, Austin Friars, Stratford Langthorne Abbey, Chapel of St James in the Wall, Order of St John, Clerkenwell, St Mary's, Willesden, Augustinian Priory of St. Mary, Spitalfields, and Hounslow Priory.

The other, less well-known story is that some survived. To quote Dan Cruickshank at Spitalfields Life: "Elsewhere, the Lord Mayor and Corporation were successful in their campaigns to save the former monastic establishments that became St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, St. Thomas’s Hospital and Bedlam. The fact that these medieval institutions survived the Reformations to continue their useful functions is one of the more pleasing tales of sixteenth century London."

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
dissolution of the monasteries

Commemorated ati

All Hallows tower and Lambe's Chapel

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Glaziers Hall

The Glaziers Hall The land in this area formed part of the site of the cloist...

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Kipling House

The wording on the plaque could have been clearer. The first half is giving t...

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Our Lady of Willesden - shrine

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, while not named on the memorial, is allud...

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Other Subjects

Cornelius Barham

Cornelius Barham

Churchwarden of Christ Church Spitalfields, 1873 - 77 at least. Possibly the grocer who occupied nearby 56 Artillery Lane in 1859 - 1904.  We also found Raven Road, Spitalfields given for him in 1877.

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Arthur B. Bryceson

Arthur B. Bryceson

Town Clerk and joint Honorary Secretary of the statue committee, Woolwich Council in 1905. We found reference to him still Town Clerk there in 1923.

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Jim Connell

Jim Connell

Political activist. Born in Rathniska, near Kilskyre, County Meath. As a teenager he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood and signed the Fenian Oath. He moved to London in 1875 and worked on Kei...

Person, Music / songs, Politics & Administration, Ireland

1 memorial
The government of Tamilnadu

The government of Tamilnadu

Tamilnadu is the state in the south-east part of India.

Group, Politics & Administration, India

1 memorial
Basil Marsden Smedley

Basil Marsden Smedley

Barrister and local politician in Chelsea. Born and lived his entire adult life in Chelsea.  At the age of 16 lost the use of his right arm. Member of Chelsea Borough Council 1928 until his death. ...

Person, Community / Clubs, Politics & Administration

2 memorials