The 1536 Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries: Same Suppression ...

Boxgrove and Horsham appeared to be in relatively good shape, but numbers can only mean
something with a clearer idea of what was needed for the priories to function. Folkestone, on the
other hand, was quite poor in comparison. To demonstrate a need for reform, the visitors had to
go beyond matters of wealth. The devotion of inmates also needed to be taken into consideration.
The inmates at Folkestone were previously from other orders. Unfortunately not enough
resources are available to adequately determine and compare the conditions of these houses. The
lack of bishops‘ registers does not mean that there was nothing wrong with the houses. Through
the few available resources, it seems there were indeed problems with the orders. The question,
then, is to what degree the houses were problematic. Based on the physical condition of the
monasteries and what is known about the monks, at the very least it can be concluded that
monasticism was no longer as rigorous as it once was.
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