the dissolution of the religious houses the tudor diocese meath

The Dissolution of the Religious Houses the Tudor Diocese MeathAuthor(s): Brendan ScottSource: Archivium Hibernicum, Vol. 59 (2005), pp. 260-276Published by: Catholic Historical Society of IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40285208 .

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Brendan Scott

The dissolution of the religious houses in the Tudor diocese of Meath

The dissolutions had a major impact upon society in the sixteenth-century diocese of Meath. In his major study on the subject, Brendan Bradshaw has argued that the religious had, without protest, rejoined secular society. Moreover, he argued that 'it is difficult to find evidence of the ill-effects of the suppression of the religious houses', and that, through the transfer of their lands into secular hands, the dissolutions contributed to 'a period of economic growth and increasing affluence'.1 Although new research has shed light on various aspects of the Reformation in Ireland, relatively little attention has been paid to the dissolution of the monasteries since the publication of Bradshaw's monograph on the subject in the early 1970s.2 Only one of the recent Irish diocesan studies of the Reformation investigates the topic in any detail.3 Marian Lyons, in her study of Kildare, concluded that the dissolution campaign was the only aspect of the Henrician Reformation to have any tangible effect in the county. The suppressions and subsequent distribution of property 'served to consolidate the positions of the county's aristocracy and gentry just as it had done in England'.4 Unlike England, however, there was no outbreak of violence, either before or after the dissolutions.5

Dr Dianne Hall has recently investigated some of the religious houses of Meath. 6 Her studies of nunneries in Meath prior to their dissolution have been a useful indication of the direction which studies of this nature can take. As these studies deal with the houses from their foundation to the dissolution, however, the focus is not necessarily on the state of the nunneries immediately prior to the dissolution, or their fate following it. There have also been other short local studies focusing on specific religious houses in Meath.7 The purpose of this

1 Brendan Bradshaw, The dissolution of the religious orders in Ireland under Henry VIII (Cambridge, 1974), p. 229. 2 Ibid. 3 Marian Lyons, Church and society in County Kildare, C.1470-154J (Dublin, 2000), pp 109- 85. The other recent diocesan studies of note are: H. A. Jefferies, Priests and prelates of Armagh in the age of Reformations, 1518-1558 (Dublin, 1997); James Murray, 'The Tudor diocese of Dublin: episcopal government, ecclesiastical politics and the enforcement of the Reformation, c.1534-1590' (unpublished PhD, University College, Dublin, 1997). 4 Lyons, Church and society in County Kildare, p. 185. See also, idem., 'Revolt and reaction: the Géraldine rebellion and monastic confiscation in county Kildare, 1535-40' in Kildare Arch. Soc. Jn., xviii (1992-3), pp 39-60. 5 Anthony Fletcher and Diarmaid MacCulloch, Tudor rebellions (London, 1997), pp 22-49; John Guy, Tudor England (Oxford, 1988), pp 149-53. 6 Dianne Hall, 'The nuns of the medieval convent of Lismullin, County Meath, and their secular connections' in Riocht na Midhe, x (1999), PP 58-70; idem., Towards a prosopography of nuns in medieval Ireland' in Archivium Hibernicum, liii (1999), pp 3-15; idem., Women and the church in medieval Ireland, c.1140-1540 (Dublin, 2003). 7 J. Brady, 'The nunnery of Clonard' in Riocht na Midhe, ii (i960), pp 4-7; H. Fenning, 'The Dominicans of Trim: 1263-1682' in Riocht na Midhe, iii (1963), pp 15-23.

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DISSOLUTION OF RELIGIOUS HOUSES IN THE TUDOR DIOCESE OF MEATH

article, therefore, is to study in detail the religious houses in the diocese of Meath immediately before and after their dissolution in the late 1530s in an attempt to understand why there was so little protest over the closures.

The religious houses often fulfilled an important function in local society. A number of their churches in both Meath and Westmeath doubled as the parish church. This was the case in Odder, Kells and Trim, where the abbey of St Mary's was used as the lord deputy's residence in the area following the dissolution.8 These churches were allowed to continue in the service of the local community, as they were often the only place of worship in the locality. It was the monks in these areas who occasionally undertook the spiritual needs of the surrounding hinterland. Some monasteries and nunneries also doubled as hospitals and schools, and religious houses were usually the first place a person in need of charity would visit.9 The religious houses also provided a defensive function. At the outset of the Kildare rebellion, the heads of nine religious houses in Meath, along with the bishop, were required to supply, depending on the wealth of the house, between one and sixteen 'able archers or gonners' in order to subdue the rebels, indicating the important role which the monasteries played in the Pale's defence.10 Despite this, many government officials did not trust the monasteries, and William Brabazon, the vice-treasurer, believed that the religious houses should be suppressed on the grounds that 'they nourish rebels'," an idea which gained credence following the treasonable actions of Prior Walsh of Loughsewdy, who supported the earl.12 It must be remembered, however, that abbeys were a source of comparative wealth and were sometimes raided, an example being the abbey of Clonard, lying on the border of Meath and Kildare, which, by 1540, had been laid Vaste by reason of war and rebellion of the O'Connor and other Irish'.*

The first wave of dissolutions In 1536, the Irish parliament passed a bill confiscating the Irish properties held by English monasteries, with the crown receiving the monastic revenues from then on.14 The English monastery of Uanthony had two cells in Meath, at Duleek and Colpe. The bishop of Meath, Edward Staples, had formerly received from the cells the large pension of IR/46 13s. ̂d. 'for procurations and synodals', which now went to the crown by virtue of an act of parliament.15 Two monks resided at the cells in Colpe and Duleek, and they were supplied with a pension of IR/15 between them.16 Many of the gentry of Meath were to benefit from the confiscation of property belonging to the abbey of Llanthony, including William Darcy, James Bathe, Patrick Barnewall and Thomas Cusack, who were granted both land and rectories.17

8 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 260, 264, 302. 9 P.R.O., S.P. 60/5/21 (iii) (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-j}, p. 31; I. cj P. Hen. VIII, xii (ii), no. 1310); P.R.O., S.P. 61/3/64 {Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 118); Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 428; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 265, 302. 10 S.P. Hen. VIII, ii, 212-3. " L- % p- Hen- VIII> x> no-

1032. 12 S.P. Hen. VIII, ii, 315; I. af P. Hen. Vili, vii, no. 1382. 13 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 309. 14 I. <£ P. Hen. VIII, xii (ii), no. 1310; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 317. 15 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 317. 16 I. <£ P. Hen. VIII, xii (ii), no. 1310; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 314. 17 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 314-7.

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ARCHIVIUM HIBERNICUM

The first actual monasteries in Meath to be dissolved were the Cistercian community at Bective, and three Augustinian houses, one in Duleek, another known as St Peter's situated at Newtown near Trim, and possibly the house in Ballyboggan.18 These houses were included in the first wave of dissolutions of Irish-owned monasteries in the summer of 1537, and were three of the wealthiest monastic settlements in Meath, St Peter's ranking seventh, Bective ranking ninth and Duleek ranking twelfth.19 It was followers of Thomas Cromwell, the king's chief minister, who benefited most from these early dissolutions, with Thomas Agard receiving Bective, and Edward Beck receiving Duleek.20 Robert Dillon, who had been narrator of St Peter's in Trim, now received the monastery as a whole on lease.21 These recipients were all religious conformists, and it is significant that they were the first people who were rewarded with monastic lands.

The Cistercian abbey of Bective was dissolved on 6 May 1536.22 The monks obviously knew that their possessions were going to be confiscated from them, so before the commission could dissolve the community, the abbot, John English, made off with goods and chattels to the value of IR/35 11s., which were eventually recovered by the accounting officer in late 1537.23 What was left of the site by the time it was valued in 1540 was barely worth inventorying. The 'roofing of the church and chancel was thrown down, and the timber so detached was used for repairs of the King's mills at Tryme'. Yet its lands in Meath were worth IR/85 17s. 4d. annually.24 Granted to Thomas Agard in late 1537, it was to change hands a number of times throughout the rest of the century.25

In the Augustinian priory of Ballyboggan, William Bermingham, who eventually received the property, had been one of the jurors appraising the abbey, and was possibly related to Thomas Bermingham, the prior there, who received a pension of IRioos.26 There is no record as to when this priory was dissolved: it was initially leased to Lord Deputy Grey for 21 years in 1538, and Henry VIII had decreed that those who 'contumaciously refuse to surrender their houses' were to be punished. Thus, it seems likely that it was surrendered voluntarily in the first wave of dissolutions in 1537, as Thomas Bermingham received a pension.27 The house, situated on the Meath-Kildare border, was in quite a ruinous state, with only its church, which was used as the parish church, in good condition.28 Only the paltry sum of IR26S. could be raised through the sale of goods and chattels

18 I. # P. Hen. VIII, xii (i), no. 1278; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 270, 298, 318. 19 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 267, 298, 317. 20 Ibid., pp 270, 318, 320-1; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 1; S.P. Hen. VIII, ii, 567-70; S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 128-9; Fiants l™-> Hen- VIII> nos 249> 381- 2I PRO., S.P. 60/5/21 (iii) (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 31; I. e[ P. Hen. VIII, xii (ii), no. 1310). 22 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 270. 23 P.R.O., S.P. 60/5/21 (iii) (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 31; I. # P. Hen. VIII, xii (ii), no. 1310); Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 270. 24 P.R.O., S.P. 60/5/21 (iii) (I. <£ P. Hen. VIII, xii (ii), no. 1310); Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 267. 25 Cal. Exchequer Inquisitions, pp 192-4; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 113, 117; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 457; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 270; P.R.O., S.P. 63/27/43 (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 403); P.R.O., S.P. 63/33/19 (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 453): Cal. Carew MSS., 1515-74, no. 104. 26 Fiants Ire., Henry VIII, no. 197; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 313. 27 1. <£ P. Hen. VIII, xix (ii), no. 795; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 55; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 313. 28 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 311.

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there.29 This, despite the fact that the priory was the site of the famous Ballyboggan crucifix, which was burned, supposedly at the suppression of the house.30 There was only one resident in the monastery apparently, the afore- mentioned Thomas Bermingham. William Bermingham, who was the receiver of the site, was granted it, along with the nearby abbey in Clonard, in 1541.31

The second wave of dissolutions

Following this activity, there was a pause in dissolutions allowing the authorities to deal with the so-called Géraldine League. Consequently, the next wave of monastic closures in Meath came in 1539, when, on 15 May, through the forced 'surrender' of the abbot, Geoffrey Dardice,32 the commissioners dissolved the Augustinian friary of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Trim, the site of the famous image of Our Lady.33 The church attached to the monastery was reportedly used 'from time immemoriar as the parish church, so it was allowed to carry on in that particular function. The other buildings on the site were also kept in good condition to be used by Lord Deputy St Leger when he was stationed in the area, and he later received two water mills belonging to the abbey in 1542.34

Thomas Agard, a man who had already benefited from the dissolutions, and who was listed as the occupier and the farmer of the land in the valuation, received a lease for the monastery and its lands in 1542, despite having been a follower of the fallen Cromwell.35 This monastic settlement, which lay on the periphery of the Pale, was ransacked from time to time by Gaelic-Irish raiders, which resulted in the destruction of some buildings on their land. It was probably to assist in the defence of the site that the lord deputy was granted access to and some property on the site.36

Frequently the leaders of the religious communities were related to the jurors on the commissions who were inspecting the site. It seems to have been the normal custom for the family of the leader of a religious community to receive the property of the religious house. For example, the nunnery of Lismullin, which was dissolved 15 July 1539, was surrendered by the prioress, Margaret Cusack, to her brother Thomas Cusack, who was the occupier of the land, and who received the lease a number of years after its surrender in 153 9. 37 He had also bought the church, cloister, dormitory and other superfluous buildings for an unknown sum when the nunnery was dissolved.38 It is possible that Thomas received the property at a low price in return for Margaret's unusually high annual pension of IRj£l6, the highest paid to any female member of a religious community in

29 Charles McNeill (ed.), 'Accounts of sums realised by sales of chattels of some suppressed Irish monasteries', in R.S.A.I.Jn., lii (1922), pp 11-37 at p. 15. 30 Ibid. 31 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 191, 197; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 310, 313. 32 Cal pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Biz., pp 57, 64, 136; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 75; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 305. 33 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 305; A.F.M., v, 1447; Ann. Conn., 709- 11; Ann. Loch Ce, iii, 315-7. See Fenning, 'The Dominicans of Trim'. 34 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 392; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 302-3. 35 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 318. 36 Ibid., no. 392; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 303. 37 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 56, 63, 135-6; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 91, 103; Cal. Exchequer Inquisitions, pp 94, 107; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 260. 38 Cal pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 144; Fiants Ire., Edward VI, no. 18; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 255-60.

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Meath.39 Indeed, she seems to have been quite wealthy, as she was able to lend Thomas money which he still owed her on his death in 1570.40 Although it is not known how long the pensions continued to be paid out, both Margaret Cusack and Anne Weldon were still receiving their pensions in 1562.41 Patrick Barnewall served as a valuation commissioner for this site, and it is possible that he was related to one of the nuns there, Jenetta Barnwell. Perhaps, then, family ties were a factor in the lack of protest at the dissolutions.42 Presumably, the abbot or abbess would voluntarily surrender the religious property in the best interests of their family.

William Brabazon, Thomas Cusack and Patrick Barnewall, the dissolution commissioners, then travelled to Kells, where, on 24 July, they dissolved the Hospital of St John the Baptist. This was another monastery where the religious, faced with the loss of all revenue and of their livelihoods, took what must have seemed the only viable option open to them, and voluntarily surrendered through the authority of its prior, Cornelius Duff, who received a pension of IR/4.43 They were rewarded for their co-operation with pensions, albeit meagre ones. Duff, as chaplain and rector of nearby Stonehall, proved his continuing loyalty the following year, when he assisted in the valuation of the property.44 At that point, the only building on the site left standing was the parish church, the rest having been thrown down. The site was leased to the occupier, William Dormer, in a patent in 1541 for 21 years.45

The nunnery of Odder fell on 31 July 1539, following the surrender of the last abbess, Margaret Sylke. Patrick Barnewall, a man who had previously protested against the closures, assisted in valuing the site in 1540.46 This site, unlike the previous one, was still in reasonable condition when valued the following year, the monastery church being used as the parish church in Odder, with the rest of the buildings being used by the resident farmer there.47 This was quite a small religious community with little property and fewer inhabitants, four in this case, including Sylke.48 This nunnery doubled as a boarding school for boys, which was still not enough to save it from extinction.49

On the same day that Odder was dissolved, the commission visited the Hospital of of St John the Baptist, situated in Newtown near Trim.5° It was also

39 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 260. 40 Cal. Exchequer Inquisitions, p. 208. 41 'Miscellaneous papers relating to Ireland' in Charles McNeill, 'Report on recent acquisitions in the Bodleian Library', Analecta Hibernica, i (1930), p. 70; 'Transcripts of deeds and wills from Exch. inquisitions Co. Dublin, ii, Eliz.-James I', NAI, RC 10/2, ff 444-6; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 135; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 259-60. 42 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 63; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 255, 260. 43 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 57, 65, 136; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 265. 44 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 65; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 78; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 264-5. Despite this, Thomas Cusack took a dim view of both St John's and St Mary's abbeys in Kells, opining that they 'serveth for noo purpos' and 'doeth noo goode': I. # P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), no. 1416. 45 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 265; S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 370; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 266. 46 S.P. Hen. VIII, ii, 372; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIH-Eliz., pp 55-6; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 89-90; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 260. 47 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 260. 48 T.C.D. MS 654, f. 124V; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 64; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 260-2. 49 P.R.O., S.P. 60/5/21 (iii) (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 31; I. # P. Hen. VIII, xii (ii), no. 1310). 50 See P. D. Sweetman 'Archaeological excavations at St John's priory, Newtown, Trim, Co. Meath' in Riocht na Midhe, viri (1990-1), pp 88-104.

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dissolved through the voluntary surrender of the prior, Laurence White.51 Patrick Barnewall, who assisted in the dissolution of this monastery, was also to profit from it, buying at the time of its closure the 'church, chancel, and other superfluous buildings' for a price 'not known'.52 He was to repeat this strategy on a number of occasions. It was advantageous both to the monasteries and the buyer for a number of reasons: the monastery, knowing that its property would soon be seized, often preferred to sell it off before confiscation and keep the proceeds, rather than see someone else profit from it. This meant that the buyer had a strong bargaining position, and could probably persuade the monastery to sell at a lower price, as the inhabitants of the religious houses would be desperate to offload their property at any price rather than to lose it all. The canons in Mullingar, for example, conscious of their precarious position, sold the tithes of the rectory of Dunboyne in 1537 to a merchant named John Stephens for only IR/41, though they were valued by the crown surveyors at IR£6i is. in 1540.53 Many of the secular and ecclesiastical officials in the Pale such as John Alen, Thomas Finglas, Thomas Cusack and George Browne, were aware of this practice, and vainly attempted to prevent the spread of rumours regarding the impending dissolutions from reaching the monasteries, as they knew that the king's revenue from the dissolutions would drop through the inevitable sale of monastic goods.54 The hospital of St John Baptist was a small one, with only two monks receiving pensions.55 John Plunkett of Dunsoghly was granted the hospital of St John the Baptist in 1546, but it is not known what use was made of it up to this point. It is possible that some agreement on the division of its profits was made between Thomas Cusack, the receiver, and Christopher Kernan, the farmer.56 The dissolution of St John the Baptist brought to an end the monastic links with Trim.

Heading northwards, the commission reached Navan three days later, dissolving another religious house bearing the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was surrendered by the prior, Thomas Wafre, on 3 August 1539.57 Wafre co- operated fully with the commission, even assisting them in the valuation of the property the following year.58 Before the house's dissolution, however, Wafre had leased a castle along with its appurtenances to his relative, Nicholas Wafre.59 By the time of its evaluation, the site was in a ruinous state, worth very little, and other property belonging to the monastery had similarly been destroyed by O'Neill and other Gaelic rebels during their frequent incursions into the Pale.6° Despite its ramshackle condition, however, the abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Navan had quite extensive holdings both in the surrounding hinterland as well

51 I. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 57, 136; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 74; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 302. 52 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 299. 53 Ibid., pp 288-9. 54 *■• < p- Hen. VIII, xi, no. 1416; P.R.O., S.P. 60/ 6/60 (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 41). 55 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 64; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 302. 56 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 467; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 302. Bradshaw believes that Newport B. White was mistaken with his dissolution dates for this house: Bradshaw, Dissolution of the religious orders, p. 114. 57 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 56, 135; Fiants Ire., Henry VIII, no. 76; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 254. 58 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 250. 59 Ibid., p. 251. 60 Ibid., pp 250-1.

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as property in places such as Ardee in Co. Louth.61 The bishop of Meath had an interest in this particular monastery, holding the tithes and profits from a number of sites which the religious house had possessed. Five members of this community were given pensions, including Wafre, who received IR/13.62 This site was eventually leased to a servant of Cromweirs named John Brookes.63 Wafre's pension of IR/13 was supplemented following its dissolution with two new positions worth IR/3, including that of Canon of St Patrick's cathedral, Dublin.64 John Betagh, from the same religious house, later secured a number of positions for himself, becoming 'parish priest' of the Church of Our Lady in Navan, supplementing his meagre pension of IR20S.65 And in 1552, he was presented to the church of St Michael of Ballyberly with the chapels of Coolcar and Ballymacwilliam in the diocese of Kildare.66

Again, there was a lull in the dissolution campaign in Meath as the commissioners concentrated their efforts on dealing with the Géraldine League, rebuffing the attacks on the Pale made by O'Donnell and O'Neill.67 By mid- November 1539, however, the religious houses in Meath once again became a priority for the commissioners. The first to fall in the new spate of dissolutions was St Mary's Abbey in Kells, on 18 November 1539, when its prior, Richard Plunkett, surrendered the monastery.68 He, too, like Cornelius Duff, the late prior of St John the Baptist in Kells, also assisted the commission who were to value the religious houses in Kells the following year. Plunkett, along with the other members of the community, received a pension, which varied in size from IR20S. to IR/10, and was a powerful incentive to co-operation.69 Gerald Fleming, the baron of Slane, received sole possession of the site in 1541.70

Following the closure of St Mary's in Kells, the commissioners visited a number of other sites before travelling westwards to visit the Benedictine priory of Fore, which was dissolved on 27 November, following the surrender of the last prior there, William Nugent.71 The jury assembled to evaluate the Benedictine priory of Fore had three members of the Nugent family on it.72 As the abbot was William Nugent, and he surrendered the monastery before it was forcibly dissolved, it might be expected that the Nugent family would have received this property. They were not to receive the priory, however, until 15 Ô773 Strangely enough, despite its location on the periphery of the Pale, the priory of Fore was

61 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 250-4. 62 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 64; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 253-4. 63 S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 97, 147; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 252. It later came into the hands of a Captain John Wakely: P.R.O., S.P. 61/3/64 (Cal S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 118); Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 428. 64 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 135, 143; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 76. 65 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 76; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 254. 66 Fiants Ire., Edward VI, no. 934. 67 S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 148-9; A.F.M., v, 1453. 68 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 57, 136; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 264. 69 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 65; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 87; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 265. 70 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 223, 265; Extents îr. Mon. Possessions, p. 264. 71 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII- Eliz., pp 57, 136; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 122; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 274. 72 Rory Masterson, 'The alien priory of Fore, Co. Westmeath, in the middle ages' in Archivium Hibernicum, liii (1999), pp 73-9. 73 P.R.O., S.P. 63/20/98 (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 334); P.R.O., S.P. 63/20/99 (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509-73, p. 334); Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 413; Fiants Ire., Elizabeth, no. 1089; Cal. Exchequer Inquisitions, pp 262-3; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 270-4.

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the wealthiest monastery in the diocese of Meath.74 When it was valued the following year, it was noted that the various towers and castles within the site were in reasonable repair, and were necessary for the 'defence of the country against the attacks of the wild Irish upon the king's subjects'.75 Despite the size and wealth of the monastery, there seem to have been only two inhabitants, as there were only two recipients of pensions, including the prior, a man named William Nugent.76 Nugent was nominated to the rectory of St Patrick's in Trim in 1546 whilst also holding the vicarage of Ardnurghry, which supplemented his pension of IR/50. The priory was in the hands of Matthew King of Kilmainham by the time the commission visited the site in 1540, leased to him for 21 years, at a charge of IR/140.77

The Augustinian house in Mullingar was dissolved on 28 November, 1539. There, the last prior of the house, John Petit, who, as discussed below, was possibly involved in the subterfuge played out at the Dominican house there, set about leasing out the monastic lands into secular hands once the danger which they were in became apparent.78 Petit also managed to reserve the only local rectory belonging to the monastery, which was located at Vastina, by leasing it with Edward Petit and Thomas Casey in 1540, as well as securing a pension worth IR/20 for himself.79 So, although supposedly devoted to the life of God and the pursuit of the spiritual, the religious were often worldly people, well aware of the influence and power of money.

Following the dissolution of the house at Mullingar,80 the commissioners visited the priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Tristernagh,81 also known as Kilbisky, dissolving it through the voluntary surrender of the last prior there on 30 November 153 9. 82 There were a number of stone buildings and stone walls standing which were still in good condition when the site was valued the following year. These were allowed to remain for the 'protection of the country' and hinterland, which was dangerously exposed to raids from the Gaelic Irish.83 Incidentally, Thomas Cusack believed that both the priories of Mullingar and Tristernagh should be kept open, claiming that they were the only religious houses in that area fit to receive the lord deputy and able to keep good residence, a recommendation which was ignored.84 There were at least five members of this community which was quite large for the time, and the amount of land

74 In 1511, the then sheriff of Meath, Christopher Cusack, included the abbot of this priory in a list of the wealthiest landowners in the shire: TCD, MS 594, pp 29-30. 75 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 271. 76 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 136; Fiants Ire., Henry VIII, nos 122, 128; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 274. 77 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 128; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 274. Much of the priory's possessions had been leased to members of the local Fitzsimon family: Rory Masterson, 'The barony of Fore, County Westmeath, 1170-1540' (unpublished Ph.D, National University Ireland, Maynooth, 1997), p. 226. 78 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 287. 79 Ibid. 80 See below, pp 26-7. 81 See The register of the priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tristernagh, éd. M. V. Clarke (Dublin, 1941). 82 Richard Tuit had been prior there in 1502, but the only reference to him in 1539 is in a document which dates from 1562. It seems that this reference is incorrect as there is no contemporary record which lists Tuit as prior of the house at the time of the dissolutions: Cal. Exchequer Inquisitions, pp 179-80; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 57, 136; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 280. 83 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 276. 84 I. e[ P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), no. 1416; Cal pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 136-7.

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it possessed indicates to us that this was quite a large and wealthy monastery. Thomas Cusack estimated its yearly value at IR/ioo, despite its lands 'lying mostly among the wild Irish'.85

An interesting point about this monastery was that Edmund Nugent, bishop of Kilmore, was the commendator of the site.86 He claimed to be so deeply in debt to various creditors, through buying goods for the use of the house, that selling off everything in the house would not cover all of the debts. It was agreed, therefore, that Nugent should receive most of the goods of the monastery to pay off the creditors in order to exonerate the king from the debt which he would owe when the ownership of the monastery passed into his hands.87 The site was leased to Robert Delman in a patent in 1539 for 21 years. Yet when the commissioners visited in 1540, some of the superfluous buildings on the site that Nugent was expected to sell remained unsold, and no records appear to exist of Nugent paying off the debts accrued.88 It is possible that Robert Nugent, who was a juror for this monastery, was related to Edmund Nugent, and assisted the bishop's fraud attempt. Robert received a pension from the monastery, as did Thomas Barnewall, a relation of Patrick Barnewall, who, as we have seen, was actively involved in the dissolutions.89

Following this spate of dissolutions, the sequence of events becomes less clear. Surrenders were no longer formally recorded, the only houses left to be dissolved being those lying in the marcher lands between the English Pale and Gaelic areas. Bradshaw believes that the surrenders were conducted from Tristernagh by Thomas Cusack, 'either through enticing the subpriors in the area to visit the commissioners, or by remote control through the medium of local officials'.90 This was certainly the manner in which the commissioners valued some of the remaining sites in 1540, the former abbot and prior of the Cistercian abbey in Granard being used to value the site there. The commissioners were unable to value the site themselves, or even to use 'other men of the neighbourhood', because they could not 'venture to approach nearer for fear of the Irish'.91 Although we do not have an exact date for the dissolution of Granard, we do know that it was surrendered voluntarily in late 1539 or early 1540: a document of 1540 lists the religious who received pensions from this monastery.92 Using Gaelic religious who had such close links to the monastery was not an ideal practice for the government, and it seems that the commissioner's reservations regarding their usefulness were well founded, as neither the former abbot nor prior could estimate the abbey's value satisfactorily, despite having vacated the property no

85 Ibid.; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 136; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 104. 86 He had occupied this position since at least 1529: Cromer's register, f. 45. For more on Nugent, see Colm Lennon, "The Nugent family and the diocese of Kilmore in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries', in Breifhe, x (2001), pp 362-7. 87 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 19; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 280. 88 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 79; 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 19; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 280. 89 S.P. Hen. VIII, ii, 370; S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 210; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 73; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 235; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 267, 292, 299, 302, 307, 308. 90 Bradshaw, Dissolution of the religious orders, p. 116; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 283. 91 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 280. 92 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 99. See below, table 2.

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more than a year previously. They now claimed to be 'ignorant of the amount of profit received from a number of lands, holdings and spiritual possessions', despite being the 'parsons impropriate of all the parish churches' in their area.93 Despite this intransigence, the former abbot of Granard, Richard O'Farrell, was given a grant of English liberty, before being made bishop of Ardagh under the king's instruction.94 The possible reason for this appointment was to buy the support of his family, who were the most powerful family in the region. The site itself was a shambles, with the church in ruins, and there was negligible profit to be made through the sale of chattels from this site, two church bells being left unsold.95 Thomas Cusack, receiver in 1540, was the first to be leased this site, before the Nugent family were leased the property in 1557. The Nugents held on to it until it was again leased to Thomas Cusack by Queen Elizabeth in 1569. 96

The next clutch of monastic settlements in this area were even less well provided for. Situated in the Pale marches, the religious houses based in Inchmore, Abbeyderg, Kilmacahill, Templenesagart and Ardnacrany seem to have had no viable communities residing within their walls at all. These monasteries were dissolved through the surrender of their respective abbots and priors, but this happened in theory only. The Gaelic O'Farrell family had taken most of these houses and their contents for their own use, long before the dissolutions had begun.97 Indeed, two of their number, Richard and John, were abbots of the religious houses of Granard and Abbeyderg respectively.98 The commissioners were unable to visit the sites in 1540 to value them, or in 1539, when it is likely the monasteries were dissolved, as 'all the possessions are in the Annale among the Irish, for fear of whom it was not safe to approach thither for the purpose of making extents'.99

The priory of Loughsewdy is another religious house whose dissolution date is unknown to us. As it was located in the marches, like those mentioned above, it seems safe to assume that it was dissolved at roughly the same time. The extent of this monastery was undertaken with the assistance of Thomas Tuyt, the last prior and only resident of the house, as the commissioners could not venture any further than Tristernagh due to the hostile Gaelic Irish.100 There was not much remaining of the site to value in any case, if Tuyt' s testimony was anything to go by. The church was in ruins, with much of its property lying in the hands of the local Gaelic families. According to Thomas Cusack, the monastery was in a ruinous state, and failed to practice divine service or keep hospitality.101 Despite this, the property was worth IR/40 per year, and was leased to Walter Tyrell in

93 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 281-2. 94 S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, p. 303; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 200, 215, 227; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 280-2. 95 Ibid.; 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 21. 96 Cal pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 372, 379-80, 394-5; Fiants Ire., Edward VI, no. 1056; Fiants Ire., Elizabeth, no. 1401; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 282. 97 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 19. 98 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no.

99; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 280, 283-4; 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 19. 99 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 283. 100 I. # P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), no. 1416; Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 63; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 189; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 283-4. 101 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 63; I. £ P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), no. 1416; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 285; 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 34.

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1542 for 21 years, then to the baron of Delvin, before reverting in 1586 to the crown.102 By 1578, Thomas Tuyt was a married landowner.103

According to Bradshaw, the abbey of Clonard was never actually dissolved due to the uncertainty regarding under whose jurisdiction it came.104 The death of the abbot in May 1540, however, meant the crown could claim it without opposition.105 The site and its buildings were in ruins due to the 'war and rebellion of the O'Connor and other Irish'.106 There does not appear to have been any other members of the monastery following the death of its prior. Subsequently, when it was leased to William Bermingham,107 he had no pensions eating into the profits of the site.108

It is possible that up to roughly half of the religious houses in Meath did not surrender voluntarily.109 Many of the houses had no viable community, and it is possible that many of them were never officially dissolved. Indeed, there was some resistance by the monks to the loss of goods and lands which inevitably followed the dissolution. The religious houses were aware of their calamitous situation, and sold off what they could in an attempt to keep at least part of their wealth in their hands.110 It is also possible that the religious simply moved out of the reach of the commissioners, merely bringing with them whatever was easy to transport.

We can see the respect which some of the religious, particularly the Franciscan Observants, commanded among certain members of society, for it is likely that in some cases, houses which were supposedly empty were in reality still occupied by the religious, despite official reports to the contrary. The Observants in Multifarnham, Co. Westmeath, for example, were probably still residing there in 1540, when their land was surveyed: no books had been confiscated, the monastery still had running water, the orchards still bore fruit, and the buildings were in 'sufficient repair'.111 It was stated in the report that no one wished to take a lease of the monastery, but this is possibly because the friars might still have been there. Yet it is not explicitly mentioned that the friars continued to keep residence at the site. It is mentioned in Brabazon's accounts, however, that the 'goods and chattels still remain in the house . . . not at all sold or appraised'.112 It was reported in the extents that an island on the property used for drying nets had not been leased by 1541 because 'no-one desires to take a lease of it'.113 It is possible, however, that this reluctance to take a lease on the island was due to the fact that the monks were still living there. Bradshaw and others explain this by saying that it was Lord Delvin who protected the order, with no one willing to defy his wishes.

IO2 I. af P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), no. 1416; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 326; Cal. Exchequer Inquisitions, pp 262-3; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 285. 103 Cal. Exchequer Inquisitions, pp 239, 241. 104 See Brady, 'The nunnery of Clonard'. 105 Bradshaw, Dissolution of the religious orders, pp 123-4. 106 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 309. 107 Birmingham assisted in the evaluation of the site, which took place in Carbery, probably due to the presence of the hostile Gaelic Irish in Clonard: Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 309-10. 108 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 191; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 309-10. 109 Extents Ir. Monastic Possessions, pp 250-321. It is possible, however, that the records are no longer extant, no I. el P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), no. 1416; S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 10, 129. in 'Accounts of monastic chattels', pp 24, 33; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 275. 112 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 14. 113 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 275.

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Although his influence may have protected the house from closure, there is no reason why the commission could not have mentioned this fact. Rather, it is possible that the locals protected them when the commission arrived.114 This would indicate a high level of respect for the Observants in Meath, who certainly were well esteemed throughout Ireland. The house in Multifarnham was still being run in 16 00,115 much to the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth.116 The friars there were regarded as such a threat that the soldier, Sir Francis Shane, suggested burning the house to the ground.117

This was not an isolated incident, as we can see in the case of the Dominican friary at Mullingar. The commissioners state that the house had been 'dissolved by the withdrawal of the prior and convent on their voluntary abandonment of the priory', but no dissolution date was given. It seems possible, however, that the

religious had continued to reside at the Dominican house, merely leaving temporarily on the arrival of the commission.118 Aside from the roof of the church, the site and its buildings were in good condition, and there was some hint of recent occupation, the commissioners describing buildings on the site as

being lately occupied by the religious. The commission's report states that the friars there had encountered problems with Gerald Petit, who resided in the mill, and who claimed that 'it is his own right and inheritance, and was formerly leased

by himself to the friars, who have no other right to if. It also appears that the

religious had lost their lands in order to pay for and retain their house."9 It could be, however, that locals were covering up for the friars, as the report places a lot of stress upon the fact that the monks did not own the land or buildings, with

conflicting stories as to who had the right to these lands, the friars or a local. After all, if a local owned what was deemed to be church lands, the commission could not confiscate it. The prior of the Augustinian Canons in Mullingar, and also

possibly of the Dominican house, was John Petit, and it could be that he and Gerald were related in some way, working together to deceive the commissioners.120 As one of the jurors was the former subprior of the house, it may be that the monks had temporarily left for the duration of the commission's visit, leaving him to weave the somewhat confused story which is recounted in the commission's report.121 Other members of the commission involved in valuing the house were locals who would have known of the situation there, and as they failed to speak up, it is possible that this was one of the few cases of the local

neighbourhood protecting its monastery through passive resistance.122 It seems

likely that the commissions saw through the subterfuge being played out before

114 Bradshaw, Dissolution of the religious orders, p. 141; Lennon, "The Nugent family', p. 370. 115 Although granted to Edmund Felde, Patrick Clynche and Philip Pentney in 1546, they never took possession of the site: Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 483. Clynche was possibly the same man who had been 'clerc of the organs' in the

abbey of St. Thomas in Dublin: Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 6; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 83-4. 116 P.R.O., S.P. 63/2O7(iii)/i39 (Cal. S.P. Ire., 1600, p. 274). 117 P.R.O., S.P. 63/208(^/53 (Cal S.P. Ire., 1600-1, p. 197). 118 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 290-1. 119 Ibid., p. 291. 120 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 65, 136; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 290. 121 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 291. 122 Although theoretically in the king's hands, by 3 February 1539, the house was 'in no way sold or appraised' as it should have been: 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 33.

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them, but were powerless to do anything about it at the time: a fiant from Elizabeth's reign123 granted a commission powers to retrieve hidden church lands. In any case, the friary did not survive much longer: it was dissolved in 1547,124 and was leased to Thomas Casey, then to Thomas Gorie,125 before eventually becoming the site for the court and gaol in Mullingar.126 Table 1 (opposite) shows the distribution of monastic property.

The dissolution of the friaries Not much money could be expected to be raised from the dissolution of the friaries. Most of them were poor to begin with, due to their vow of poverty. As we can see from Table 2, no friars were to receive a pension.127 The annual income of a house such as the Augustinian friary of Skreen was 16s. 4^., which was a pittance compared to the richest monastery in the area, the Benedictine priory of Fore, which was worth between IR/138 6s. 8d. and IR/200, and whose abbot, William Nugent, received a pension of IR/50.128 Patrick Barnewall bought the chancel from the friary at Skreen for an undisclosed sum before it was dissolved.129 Following its plunder, only IR30S. worth of chattels and goods from this site could be sold.l3° The Carmelite friary located in Athboy was valued in October 1540 and was included in Brabazon's accounts dated February 1539, meaning that it was probably dissolved in late 1538 or early 1539.131 The occupier, Thomas Casey, had renovated the site, using the stones from the priory cloister to repair the mansion on the site, and transforming the monastic church into stables for his horses.132 This forward-thinking renovation is probably an accurate indication of what eventually happened on most other dissolved monastic sites. The sale of chattels from this monastery raised IR/15 13s. nd., and it was Casey who was initially leased the site for 21 years in 1540 for IR40S., then granted it in 1542 for IR/38.133

The house of Observant Franciscan friars situated in Trim was another whose dissolution date remains unknown to us. We can make the assumption, however, that it was dissolved by 1539 as it is included in Brabazon's accounts for that year.134 This site provides a good insight into what tended to happen to these sites post-dissolution. The church and chancel, which were still standing when the commissioners arrived in October 1540, were to be thrown down to be used as building material for a mansion which was to be erected there.135 Despite failing

123 Fiants Ire., Elizabeth, no. 2906. 124 Cal. pat. rolls Hen. VIH-Eliz., p. 136. According to Brabazon's accounts, however, the goods and chattels of the monastery were sold in 1537: 'Accounts of monastic chattels', pp 17, 20, 22. 125 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIH-Eliz., p. 491. 126 Fiants Ire., Edward VI, no. 1079; Cai. Exchequer Inquisitions, p. 379. 127 See below, table 2. 128 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIH-Eliz., p. 61; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 413; I. # P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), no. 1416; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 270-4, 306-7. See below, table 2. 129 The stone from its church was also sold to persons unknown: Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 306-7. 130 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 23; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 307. See also Elizabeth Hickey, 'The monastery of eremite friars of Saint Augustine at Skryne, Co. Meath' in Riocht na Midhe, viii (1990-1), pp 145-50. 131 'Accounts of monastic chattels', pp 11, 22; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 266. 132 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 266. 133 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 127, 317; 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 22; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 267. 134 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 22. 135 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 307.

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Table i. Distribution of monastic property Recipient6 Site Date received Robert Dillon Demesne of St Peters, Trim

Parcels of St Peters, Trim 22 December 1537137 Hospital St John Baptist, Trim and BVM, Navan 22 July 1540138 Friary of Ardnacranny 20 March 1546139

Thomas Agard Monastery of Bective 18 December 1537140 BVM, Trim 29 June 1542141

John Barnewall (Lord Trimletiston) Parcel of St Peters, Trim 14 January 1538142 Edward Beck Abbey of Duleek 28 January 1538143 Leonard Grey (Lord Deputy) Abbey of Ballyboggan 12 March 153 8 H4 Robert Delman Priory of Tristernagh 27 July 153 9145 Thomas Cusack Nunnery of Lismullin 1 March 1540146

Site of OP Friary, Trim 24 May 1542147 Friary of Skreen 26 June 1569148 Cistercian Abbey of Granard

David Floyde OP Friary, Trim 26 April 1540149 Matthew King Priory of Fore 26 April 1540150 William Bermingham Abbey of Clonard 17 June 1541151

Abbey of Ballyboggan 17 June 1541152 Gerald Fleming (Lord Slane) Monastery of Kells, OSA 10 July 1541153 Patrick Barnewall Nunnery of Gracedieu Dublin 29 July 1541154 John Brookes BVM, Navan 31 August 1541155 William Dormer Hospital St John Baptist, Kells 21 November 1541156 Thomas Casey Abbey of Athboy 21 June 1542157 Anthony St Leger OFM Friary, Trim 10 July 1542158

Monastery BVM, Trim 14 November 1542159 Walter Tyrell Priory of Loughsewdy 26 July 1542160 Gerald Aylmer OFM Friary, Drogheda 16 February 1543161 Owen O'Morrin Abbey of Kilbeggan 16 November 1543162 Jenico Preston Parcel of OP Friary, Drogheda 31 January 1544163 John Plunkett Hospital of St John Baptist,

Newtown near Trim 28 January 1546164 James Bathe Parcels of Monastery of St Thomas

of Dublin in Meath 25 March 1546165 Edward Field, Patrick Clynche and Philip Pentney Priory of Multifarnham 5 April 1546166

136 For information on many of these recipients and their families, see Brendan Scott, 'Religion and reform in the Tudor diocese of Meath, (unpublished PhD, National University of Ireland, Galway, 2004), pp 200- 54. 137 P.R.O., S.P. 65/4/14-15. 138 Cal pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 122. 139 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 156. 140 P.R.O., S.P. 65/4/15; I. flf P. Hen. VIII, xv, no. 849. 141 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 318. 142 P.R.O., S.P. 65/4/16. 143 P.R.O., S.P. 65/4/14. 144 P.R.O., S.P. 65/4/16 (v). 145 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 79. 146 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 144, 148; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 91. 147 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 88-9; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 309. 148 Fiants Ire., Elizabeth, no. 1401. 149 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 129. 150 Ibid., no. 128. 151 Ibid., no. 191. 152 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p 85; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 197. 153 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 223. 154 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., pp 73-4; S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 298; Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 235. 155 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 252. 156 Ibid., no. 265. 157 Ibid., nos 127, 317. 158 Ibid., no. 325. 159 Ibid., no. 340. 160 Ibid., no. 326. 161 Ibid., no. 350. 162 Ibid., no. 376. 163 Ibid., no. 402. 164 Ibid., no. 467. 165 Ibid., no. 451. 166 Ibid., no. 483. As noted above, they do not seem to have taken possession of the site.

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to sell two bells, the commissioners realised IRj£i2 13s. from the sale of chattels on this site.184 The site was sold to Anthony St Leger for IR/56 in July 1542.185

The friary of Dominicans in Trim was probably dissolved at the same time,186 with some corrupt practices regarding the sale of confiscated goods. The bishop of Meath, Edward Staples, bought 'the church, cloister, chancel, and other houses and buildings' from the king's commissioners, 'for what sum is not known'.187 As has been discussed, some of the monasteries sold or leased what they could of their possessions before they were dissolved, so that they could hold onto at least some of their profits. This was the case with the Dominican house in Trim, where, following the initial spate of dissolutions in 1537, they leased IR33S. worth of land to John Fyan, a local, for IR30S.188 The friars could not sell everything on the site, however, and left behind them goods which, following the dissolution of the house, were sold for IR/14 13s. 4^., quite a high figure when it is taken into account that one bell was left unsold. The site, after initially being leased to David Floyde, a soldier from Dublin, was later bought by Thomas Cusack in May 1542, and eventually ended up in the possession of a consortium of four people, including Robert Cusack, chaplain of Lismullin, in 1565.189

It is possible that the Franciscan house of Slane was not even officially visited or dissolved during the second wave of suppressions, for Brabazon fails to include it in his list of houses suppressed in 1539-40.190 Again, it seems possible that this house had been vacated before the suppression campaign had begun. When it was valued in 1540, the site was occupied by the farmer living there, and, as they were not expected to be worth much, permission was given to demolish the church and belfry.191 There is a record extant telling us who received this site, and it is possible that the farmer living there at the time of the valuations continued to reside there.192

The dissolutions had a profound and lasting effect in the Pale, where they were most effective. They changed the diocese of Meath in particular, which had one of the highest numbers of monasteries in Ireland, as well as one of the highest dissolution rates. At least four of these houses had doubled as hospitals or schools, which meant that these vital services were now lost. It could be assumed that such a change radically altered the fabric of everyday life in Meath, yet, curiously enough, there was no major protest at this change. The religious, both men and women, had been trained to serve God and the community, and now their income and property had been confiscated, potentially leaving them both

184 'Accounts of monastic chattels', pp 22, 26; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 308. 185 Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 325; Col. Carew MSS., 1515-74, no. 175. 186 'Accounts of monastic chattels', p. 22; Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 308. 187 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, p. 308. It is likely that this is the land which was adjoined to some of the property of the Franciscan house which St Leger was granted in 1542: Fiants Ire., Hen. VIII, no. 325. 188 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 308-9. 189 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 90; Cal.

Exchequer Inquisitions, pp 204-5; Fwnts Ire., Hen. VIII, nos 129, 309; Cal. Carew MSS., 1515-74, no. 175. 190 'Accounts of monastic chattels'. 191 This despite the fact that it had been restored by Christopher Fleming, the baron of Slane, in 1512: T. J. Westropp, '"Siane in Bregia", County Meath: its friary and hermitage' in R.S.A.I.Jn., xxxi (1901), pp 404-30 at p. 409. 192 Extents Ir. Mon. Possessions, pp 313-14.

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homeless and penniless. The religious had been warned by the king to surrender voluntarily, give up their habit, and to 'return to some honest mode of living' on pain of losing their pensions.193 Most of the religious seemed to acquiesce in the demands made upon them by Henry VIII. In return for their pensions and promised benefices,194 the religious surrendered their houses and landed property. Although their treatment may seem harsh, especially when the meagre size of some of the pensions are taken into account, many of the religious, particularly the abbots, priors and prioresses, were to live comfortably off the parcels of land and various church livings which they were to receive following the closure of their religious houses (see Table 2).

It might have been expected that, as in England,195 people in Ireland would have protested against the closure of the religious houses, but, as we have seen, this was not normally the case. The Pale gentry, regarded as religious con- servatives by new English settlers, were the social group that might have been expected to demonstrate against the closures, and, more importantly, had the means of doing so. The outcome of this purging of the religious houses, however, was the establishment of a new landed elite, and a strengthening or weakening of the existing gentry and landowning families of Meath. In fact, representatives of these families regularly assisted in the suppressions and subsequent valuations.196 As in England, the material benefits accrued from the acceptance of and assistance in the dissolution process meant financial reward for those involved.197 Those who had family members resident within the religious houses usually received the property after its closure, which was normally enough to ensure their support. Taken in this context, the lack of protest at the majority of closures in Meath is not surprising. Following the brutal suppression of the Kildare rebellion, many were unwilling to anger the crown by making any efforts to prevent the closures, a sentiment of which the council was well aware.198 The religious houses, sensing their imminent demise, did all they could to secure a future for themselves through the sale of their goods and granting long-term leases to those willing to take advantage of the precarious position occupied by the religious. Although certain religious houses did their utmost to deceive the dissolution commissioners and remain open, there nevertheless seems to have been more furore caused by the destruction of the images in Meath than the suppression campaign.199 It seems that, following the Kildare rebellion, along with the promise of financial rewards, it contravened the interests of too many important Palesmen to protest against the closure of the religious houses.

193 Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., p. 55. 194 Ibid. 195 I. a£ P. Hen. VIII, xi (ii), nos 784, 804, 841, 892. 196 See above, table 1. 197 Guy, Tudor England, pp 144-8. 198 S.P. Hen. VIII, ii, 371; S. G. Ellis, "The Kildare rebellion and the early Henrician Reformation' in Historical Journal, xix (1976), pp 807-30 at p. 829. 199 S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 35; Ann. Conn., pp 709-11; A.F.M., v, 1447.

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