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Year 8 · History · Tudors and the Reformation · Lesson 2

The dissolution of the monasteries

Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries (1536–1540): what monasteries did, why Henry closed them, the Pilgrimage of Grace, and judging sources.

Whiteboard video lesson: The dissolution of the monasteries

19-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Describe the role of monasteries
  • Explain reasons for the dissolution
  • Describe the Pilgrimage of Grace
  • Explain consequences
  • Judge a source using provenance

The method

  1. Content: what does it say?
  2. Provenance: who, when, why?
  3. Is it biased?
  4. How useful is it?

Key words: monastery, dissolution, Thomas Cromwell, Pilgrimage of Grace, provenance, bias, Crown.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What does ‘dissolve’ mean in ‘dissolution’?

  1. Step 1: Close down, end

Answer: To close down

Question 2

When did the dissolution of the monasteries happen?

  1. Step 1: Late 1530s

Answer: 1536 to 1540

Question 3

Who lived in monasteries?

  1. Step 1: Religious men

Answer: Monks (nuns lived in nunneries)