The Dissolution of the Monasteries happened between 1536 and 1540, lasting 4 years, and was started after the pope refused King Henry VIII permission to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry then broke away from the Catholic Church and formed the 'Church of England' of which he became head. He then went about the seizure and destruction of over 800 Roman Catholic Abbeys, Monasteries and convents across England, Wales and Ireland, using the proceeds from the seized wealth to help fund his wars against Scotland and France.

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