SOURCE A

It is now generally agreed that the dissolution of the monasteries had very significant long-term consequences in the social sphere. Because so much of the monastic land was sold by Henry VIII and during the reigns of Edward VI and Elizabeth, the number of estates available to be bought was much greater than at any time for centuries. Although many of the manors were purchased by those who already owned considerable estates, many were bought by those who would otherwise have remained ‘landless’ and therefore inferior to the existing country gentlemen.

Adapted from Henry VIII to Mary I: Government and Religion, 1509–1558 by R. Turvey and K. Randell, 2008         

SOURCE B

Historians are now agreed that most of the land disposed of by Henry VIII went to persons already well placed in the social or government hierarchy. Most of the nobility acquired lands by gift, exchange or purchase.  But the majority of sales were made to gentry, courtiers, crown officials, lawyers and townsmen, many of whom had strong local connections. But considerable regional variations in the findings make it dangerous to rely too heavily on figures produced for any one area.

Adapted from ‘The Disposal of Monastic and Chantry Lands’ by C. Kitching, 1977 (an article published in Church and Society in England: Henry VIII to James I. by F. Heal and R. O’Day, 1977)

SOURCE C

The monasteries were wealthy institutions worth some £163,000 per annum in rents alone and the crown urgently needed money. Indeed, many of the gentry, both Catholic and Protestant, subsequently shared in the spoils and, in acquiring so much church property, ensured that this reforming measure would not be reversed. Nevertheless, supporters of the dissolution, such as Hugh Latimer, sensed that the time was right to attack the concept of purgatory and implement a thorough-going Protestant Reformation.

Adapted from The Sixteenth-Century Reformation by G. Woodward, 2001