Карта архива выявила 16 монастырей в Камбрии, закрытых при Генрихе VIII

MAPS reveal the 16 monasteries across Cumbria that were dissolved in the reign of Henry VIII. St Bees; Carlisle, Penrith and Appleby are among the Cumbrian locations said to have lost a religious house in Henry VIII's purge. According to maps by the National Archive and others, the Suppression of Religious Houses Act in 1535 led to the closure of Holmcultram Abbey; Calder Abbey, Armathwaite Nunnery and Shap Abbey. Homcultram Abbey, in the village now known as Abbeytown, was home to a Cistercian order of monks before it was closed by the Crown and its assets seized. Land seized from that monastery included the village now known as Flimby, it was gifted by Henry VIII to Thomas Dalston, beginning the village's origin story. The monastery in Penrith, populated by Augustinian monks, was surrendered in 1539. Henry VIII's purge of the monasteries in England truly began in 1531 when he separated the Crown from the Catholic Church and declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England. It was the catalyst for change Henry VIII needed to rid the country of the pope's influence and establish Protestantism as the dominant form of Christianity. Calder Abbey, so called for its proximity to the River Calder, was home to an order of Cisterican monks and surrendered to the Crown in 1536. Its ruins can still be found in the town of Calderbridge. Although no longer a functioning church, St Bees Priory is largely intact and was populated by Benedictine monks before it was surrendered in 1539. It is hailed by historians and those with an interest in architecture for its well preserved medieval features. The name may cause confusion for some but Seaton Priory was based in Bootle in South Copeland. It was also known as Lekeley Nunnery and surrendered in 1537. Over 800 religious houses were closed and plundered in Henry VIII's reign. It is understood that about one in 50 adult men were part of a religious order and were displaced when the monasteries were closed. The first act of Parliament closed monasteries with an income less than £200, it is likely that many of Cumbria's sites were closed and stripped of their assets during this period.