OF MONASTERIES, &C. 137 



many of them after the conquest ; by descendants 

 of those barons, who came over with William the 

 Conqueror, such us llievalx, Byland, Kirkham, and 

 others. 



Many of these religious houses had churches be- 

 longing to them, which were given to them by their 

 founders, and others, in right of patronage. 



These abbies and priories therefore, were not 

 interwoven with the established church, but belong- 

 ed to their respective fraternities ; they and their 

 revenues, were the property of the orders to which 

 they belonged. They had their own churches, in. 

 which they themselves, officiated ; they lived con- 

 tiguous to them, and were governed only by the 

 laws of their own establishment ; so that when they 

 were suppressed, it made no difference in the nation- 

 al ecclesiastical establishment, as the public chur- 

 ches belonged to the state, and were still places of 

 public worship, though the King had become head 

 of the church, instead of the Pope. These religi- 

 ous houses were a species of private property, which 

 at the time of the dissolution, was forfeited to the 

 crown. 



The begining of the ruin of the monks was King 

 Henry's desire to divorce his wife, which the Pope 

 refused to do, the monks sided with him, and in so 

 doing, hastened their own overthrow. 



The marriage of the King with Catherine, was 

 by his friends, declared invalid. The Pope was no 

 sooner informed of these proceedings, than he pass- 

 ed a sentence, declaring Catherine to be the King's 

 lawful wife, requesting him to take her again ; and 



