The changes that took place in England in the two decades from 1534 were arguably more profound and far-reaching than in any other comparable period in English history. During that time England's ancient ties with Rome were severed, its ways of worship fundamentally changed, and a patchwork of hundreds of religious communities that extended across the country erased. The last of these – the dissolution of the monasteries – was justified by the authorities as a purge of abuse and hypocrisy, but morphed into a smoke screen for the greatest asset grab of the reign.

This chapter is not directly concerned with the break with Rome, nor with the events that gave rise to it, or the royal take-over of the Church that followed it. But the events on which it is focused – the confiscation of the vast collective wealth of the monasteries – cannot be entirely disentangled from them. Henry's failure to secure papal consent to the annulment of his marriage led directly to the break and to his own self-elevation as ‘Supreme Head of the Church in England’. This, together with his marriage to Anne Boleyn, isolated him on the international stage and raised the threat of invasion by Katherine of Aragon's nephew, Charles V. Such a threat called for a massive and costly strengthening of coastal defences; separately, it was also a contributing factor to the Pilgrimage of Grace. All these things created an urgent need for money, part of which influenced the course of the dissolution itself.

As this chapter opens, Henry was still a loyal son of the Church, basking in his newly awarded title of Fidei defensor. In 1524 the recently elected Clement VII sent him another golden rose. It was received with great pomp and ceremony and when, two years later, St Peter's basilica in Rome was desecrated by part of the imperial forces Henry immediately responded by sending Clement 2,500 ducats in aid. The first cracks in the relationship appeared in 1529 with Cardinal Campeggio's ill-starred mission to London to settle the divorce.