\paperw5085 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx8220\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 The immensely powerful Church was also built lavishly in this period to display and de
fend its own might. The abbeys that date back to the Middle Ages were originally monastic complexes, many of which were ruthlessly destroyed between 1536 and 1540 by \b \cf4 \ATXht13091000 Henry VIII\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 . The King who had six wives accused
the monasteries of laxity, but really saw them as a source of revenue for financing his wars with France and Scotland. Some of the abbeys escaped destruction, and a number were later turned into country houses.\par
