Canterbury Cathedral Reverts to Secular Canons
- When
- 1539
- Where
- Canterbury Cathedral
- Episodes
- 1
On 30 March 1539, Canterbury Cathedral and the monastery of Christ Church surrendered to the Crown. The monks were ejected after inventorying assets, and the cathedral reverted to its previous status as a college of secular canons.
Episodes
Background and detail
Institutional Context. Before the English Reformation, Canterbury Cathedral was part of a Benedictine monastic community known as the Priory of Christ Church, Canterbury. It also served as the seat of the archbishop.
Surrender to the Crown. On 30 March 1539, the cathedral and monastery surrendered to the Crown. Occupants created an inventory of goods, chattels, and precious ornaments, which were handed over to the master of the jewel-house at the Tower of London.
Status Change. Following the surrender and the ejection of the Prior and monks, the Cathedral reverted to its previous status as a college of secular canons.
People involved
- Prior and monks of Christ Church · Monastic occupants ejected after surrender
- The Crown · Recipient of the surrendered cathedral and monastery
Sources
- Canterbury Cathedral Wikipedia
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.