MONASTEUY, a convent, or house, built for the recep tion of religious devotees ; whether it be abbey, priory, nun nery, or the like. The term is only properly applied to the houses of monks, friars, and nuns. The rest are more pro perly called raigiorts houses. See ABBEY.
'1 he houses belonging to the several religions orders, which obtained in England and Wales, were cathedrals, colleges, abbey s, priories, preeeptories, commanderies, hospitals. fri aries, hermitages, clan tries, and free chapels. These were under the direction and management, of several officers. The dissolution of houses of this kind began so early as the year When the Templars were suppressed ; and in 1323, lands, churches, nil vow sons, and liberties, here in Eng land, \Acre given, by 17 Edw. II. stat. :;, to the priory and brethren of the hospital of' St. John of Jerusalem. In the years 1390, 1437, 1441, 1.159, 1497, 1505, 1505, and 1515, several other houses were dissolved, and their revenues set tled on ditf•rent colleges in Oxford and Cambridge. Soon after the last period, Cardinal Wolsey, by license of the king and pope, obtained a dissolution of above thirty religious houses, fin: the founding and endowing Ids colleges at Oxf ord and Ipswich. A bunt the same time,. a bull was granted by the same pope to Cardinal •olsey, to suppress monasteries, there there were not above six moults, to the value of s,000 ducats a year, fb• endow ing Windsor, and Ding's College. in ; and two other bulls were granted to Carolinals Ca upeius, where there tt ere less than twelve monks, and to amines 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 dune in consequence of these bulls, the motive which induced Wolsey, and many others, to suppress these houses, was the desire of prumuting learning; and Archbishop Crammer engaged in it with a view of carry ing on the 1:etormation. There were other causes that con urred to bling on their ruin : many of the devotees were vicious; monks were generally thought to be, in their hen: ts. attached to the pope's snprema•y ; their reve were not employed according to the intent of the donors ; many cheats in images, feigned miracles, and counterfeit relics, had been discovered, which brought the monks into disgrace ; the Observant friars had opposed the king's divorce loom Queen Catharine ; and these circumstances operated. in
concurrence king's want of a arge 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 eruct n, to hieh Were not able to spend above x.200 a year; and an act was passed for that purpose, 27 lieu. VIII. C. 26. By this about 380 houses were dissolved. at reve nue of £30.000 or X:12,000 a y ear came to the ; about £100,000 in plate and jewels. The suppression of the houses occasioned great discontent, and at length an open rebellion : when this was appeased, the king to suppress the rest of the monasteries, and appointed a new visitation ; which caused the greater abbey s to be surrendered apace ; and it as enacted by 31 lien. VIII. c. 13, that all monasteries, which have been surrendered since the 4th of February, in the twenty-seventh year or his majesty's reign, and to hieli hereafter shall be surrendered, shall be vested in the king. The of St. :John of Jerusalem were. also suppressed by the 32 Henry V111., e. 24. The suppression of these greater houses by these two acts, produced a revenue to the king of above £100,000 a year, besides a large sum in plate and jewels. The last net of dissolution, in this king's reign, was the ttet of 37 lieu. c. 4, for dissolving col leges, flee chapels, chantries, &e.. which act was fltrther enforced by 1 Ed. VI., e. 11‘: this act were suppressed 90 colleges, 110 hospitals, and 2 374 eh:tunics and free cha pels. The number of houses and places suppressed, from If proper allowances are made f fr the lesser monasteries, and houses not included ill this estimate, and for the plate, &e., which came into the hands of the king by the dissolu tion. and for the value of money at that time, which was at least six times as much as at present, and we 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.