Changing to suit the times: a post-Dissolution history of Monk Bretton Priory, South Yorkshire

Abstract

The Dissolution of the Monasteries is usually seen as the final event in the lifecycle of monastic sites, and consequently is often discussed in terms of the destruction wrought or the motivations of those who profited immediately from their demise. However, the majority of former monastic sites continued to be occupied, maintained and developed in new ways for decades after these events. This paper takes the case study of Monk Bretton Priory, a fairly unremarkable monastic institution, and attempts to demonstrate how an explicitly biographical and long-term examination of a site’s post-Dissolution history can provide a more nuanced and balanced narrative.