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Parish Churches
Parish churches tend to be the oldest buildings
in most towns and villages throughout britain. Quite
often the current building sits on a much older
site of religious significance, dating back many
centuries.
Cathedrals
Most cities in Britain have a cathedral, and city
status was traditionally granted to towns with a cathedral.
This initially started in the 1540s, when King
Henry VIII founded his Church of England diocese
system (districts under the administration of a bishop).
However this association is not strictly true, as there
18 cities in Britain that do not have have a cathedral
and around 26 towns that actually do have one.
Monasteries, Abbeys & Priories
During the medieval period (5th to 15th century),
well over a thousand monasteries, nunneries, friaries,
priories and abbeys were founded across Britain,
as places for monks, friars and nuns to accommodate
and practice their religious beliefs. Very few remain
intact, mainly due to Henry VIII's Dissolution of the
Monasteries in 1538. There are hundreds of
ruins of religions houses to be found across the UK,
many of which are open to the public, such as those
at Glastonbury, Fountains Abbey, Tintern, Rievaulx
and St Mary's at York.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
In 1538, Henry VIII took a decisive step against the power of the church, when he began the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Initially the small less powerful Monasteries had their property confiscated and their buildings destroyed or sold off. This was followed the next year by the same fate for the larger Monasteries.
Some Abbeys and Monasteries buildings were not totally destroyed and parts have been incorporated into many Cathedrals and churches. Many were raised to the ground, such as Sawtry Abbey, of which nothing remains except for its buried foundations. Others currently still stand in ruins such as Bury St Edmonds and Glastonbury.
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