Christian monasteries first developed in the 4th century in Egypt and Syria and by the 5th century the idea had spread to Western Europe.

When were monasteries built in England?

The first purpose-built monastery to be erected in England after the Reformation was a modest structure built in 1795 near East Lulworth in Dorset, for a refugee community of Trappist monks from France, and in 1820-3 the first new monastic buildings of significant size went up, at Downside in Somerset.

When were monasteries established in Ireland?

From about 500 AD, monasteries were built in Ireland. The first monasteries were usually built in isolated places like Glendalough in Co. Wicklow or on islands such as Skellig Michael off the coast of Co. Kerry. Some monasteries were also built near the forts of important kings like the monastery of Clonard in Co.