Where did the monks go when the monasteries were closed down?

Answer 1

All English monasteries were forced to close in the period 1538 - 1542 by king Henry VIII, who confiscated anything of value and destroyed everything else. The numbers of monks and nuns had already been in decline for some time, so relatively few people were thrown out; they had the choice of finding other employment or (if they were elderly) taking a pension from the king.

Many monasteries were simply "slighted" - meaning that the roof was destroyed, walls torn down and the stone sold for building material elsewhere. Other monasteries (such as St Augustine's, Canterbury) were converted into royal residences or stopover places for royal guests on their way to London, as a kind of guest-house for important visitors.

The king donated some monastery sites to his favourite courtiers, who converted them into fashionable homes. Michelham Priory in Sussex is one of these - all you will see there today is the old medieval gatehouse of the monastery complex, together with a stately home which has completely destroyed all trace of the monastery itself.

Answer 2

Which monasteries are you referring to? Henry VIII threw the Catholic Church out of Britain when he was refused an annulment to the marriage of his first wife. Some devout Catholics were upset about the banishment of everything about the Catholic Church not just the monasteries.

There are many monasteries functioning at this very moment around the world. Not "ALL" monasteries have been closed. Some are closed when the monks get too old and no younger monks have joined the specific order.

Answer 3

Many of the monasteries were closed because there weren't enough Monks to sustain them. They had either died or left the order. Those that were still there moved to other monastaries.