Professor Suzannah Lipscomb unravels one of the most profound transformations in Tudor society, when faith and politics collided: the dissolution of the monasteries. Over just four years in the 1530s, Henry VIII dismantled the spiritual and cultural bedrock of medieval England. This was the most traumatic exercise of royal power since the Norman Conquest.

In this first episode, Suzannah travels to some of the most beautiful locations in England, taking us back to a time when the monasteries were thriving, and exploring how these institutions had been at the heart of communities for centuries. These great buildings were not just places of piety, they were hubs of local life - places of worship, education, healthcare and charity.

From atmospheric ruins of great northern abbeys like Fountains, to the priory sheltered inside Canterbury Cathedral - the headquarters of Christianity in the country - Suzannah investigates what life was like inside the cloister. She tries her hand at illuminating a medieval manuscript, a beautiful craft undertaken by monks as an act of devotion.

As religious upheavals engulfed continental Europe, Henry VIII’s government, led by Thomas Cromwell, turned on the monasteries. At the National Archives, Suzannah delves into remarkable original records which show how the Crown was able to take over the church, spread propaganda to denigrate nuns and monks and commence the destruction of the monastic way of life.

In the North, infuriated locals protested the ruination of their local monasteries - Suzannah traces the route of the Pilgrimage of Grace, which escalated into the largest rebellion ever faced by a Tudor monarch. But as Henry wrestled back control over his realm, his resolve against the monasteries only grew stronger…

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In the next episode, Suzannah continues her journey across the country to investigate the final days of the monasteries, as a tradition that had flourished for a millennium came to a jolting end.

In the remains of majestic Glastonbury Abbey, she discovers fatal consequences for Abbots who resisted the might of the crown. In the smaller nunneries and friaries, Suzannah investigates the fate of the monks and nuns left behind to grapple with unimaginable change. Across the great churches of the land, she discovers the impact on ordinary people as seismic changes reverberated across the kingdom, forever altering England’s religious and social landscape.

Episode 2 will be available on 30th January 2025.