Parish churches, private houses and picturesque ruins – these are the fates of most of the religious houses that once dotted our landscape.

The Photographers Resource website lists over forty such abbeys and priories in Essex, and there are more to add.

Between 1536 and 1540, Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries following his break with Rome and the Catholic church which had dominated English life for centuries. The pretext was religious reform, including abolition of monastic life which (it was claimed) had become corrupt, and the destruction of holy relics which were used to part the faithful with their money.

Of course, finance was a powerful motive: there was immense wealth tied up in the great religious houses of Britain, and Henry wanted cash to fund his wars. Not all houses were wealthy, however - the smaller ones (like Maldon's Friary) could be quite poor.

Once the government commissioners decided to shut down an abbey or priory, its end came quickly. Moveable valuables, such as gold, silver and bronze church ornaments and tableware, were seized to be melted down for the government. This usually happened to lead roofs as well, hastening the decay of abandoned buildings. Land would be rented out to local people. Intact buildings were sometimes rented or purchased outright.

The remaining timber and stone and brickwork were left to be looted by local residents. Thus many local homes might end up with material salvaged from a local religious house. Consequently, the most spectacular abbey remains lie in areas more remote from local communities, like the wonderful examples in Yorkshire, Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire, and Melrose on the Scottish borders. These areas were also more inclined to remain loyal to the old religion.

It's not surprising therefore that the most substantial remains in Essex occur where buildings were re-used as private houses or as parish churches.

Audley End House sits on land that belonged to Walden Abbey, home of Benedictine monks for four hundred years until its suppression in 1538. Sir Thomas Audley made much of its fabric the basis of his mansion house, but subsequent rebuildings in more fashionable styles mean that it is not possible to trace more than the footprint of some of the old cloisters in the alignment of later buildings.

This is not true of Maldon's Beeleigh Abbey, where there are visible remains of the old White Canons monastery, mainly because the buildings had more modest use, as a farmhouse and even for a while a public house. They became ruinous in the 19th Century but were restored and it is now a private residence. There is even once more an Abbot of Beeleigh thanks to the cooperation of the Foyle family who own the site.

St Osyth's Priory also retains significant remains of its Augustinian days, including its grand gatehouse.

More numerous are the parish churches that have been developed from abbey buildings – usually the abbey's own chapel.

These include churches using buildings from Blackmore Priory, Coggeshall Abbey (from the gatehouse chapel), Hatfield Broad Oak Priory, Hatfield Peverel Priory, Little Dunmow Priory (from the lady chapel of the priory church), Tilty Abbey (the gatehouse chapel), and Waltham Abbey. Although it is usually just the nave that remains from monastic days, it is possible to imagine the quiet tread of hooded figures, and voices raised in chant.

Hardest of all to find are the kind of picturesque ruins that we can see in the north and the west of the country. The most visible and beautiful is the remains of St Botolph's in Colchester. The walls and pillars of flint and re-used Roman tiles are very distinctive. The church became a parish church like many other, but was pounded by cannon in the English Civil War and was never restored – hence its current state.