The charter of Henry VIII. founding the see is too long to quote _in extenso_, but it stated that "Whereas the great convent or monastery, which, whilst still in being, was called the monastery of St. Peter of Gloucester, ... and all and singular its manors, ... and possessions, for certain special and urgent causes were, by Gabriel Moreton, Prior of the said abbey or monastery and the convent thereof, lately given and granted to us and our heirs for ever.... We, being influenced by divine goodness, and desiring above all things, that true religion, and the true worship of God may not only not be abolished, but entirely restored to the primitive and genuine rule of simplicity; and that all those enormities may be corrected into which the lives and profession of the monks for a long time had deplorably lapsed, have, as far as human frailty will permit, endeavoured to the utmost that for the future the pure word of God may be taught in that place, good discipline preserved...." The charter goes on to say that, "considering the site of the said late monastery in which many famous monuments of our renowned ancestors, Kings of England, are erected, is a very fit and proper place ... we have decreed that the site of the said monastery be an episcopal see.... We also will and ordain that the said Dean and Prebendaries, and their successors, shall for ever hereafter be called the Dean and Chapter of the Holy and Individed Trinity of Gloucester." Henry also assigned to the Bishop all the premises formerly occupied by the Abbot. In 1576 the fabric seems to have been in want of considerable repair, and in 1616, when Dr Laud was Dean, it was said of it that "there was scarcely a church in England so much in decay." The Dean procured an Act of the Chapter, by which the sum of L60 per annum was to be allowed for repairs. In the time of the civil war it suffered less than might have been expected. It was subsequently in danger of total destruction from the machinations of some persons, who are said "to have agreed amongst themselves for their several proportions of the plunder expected out of it." The little cloisters and the Lady Chapel were begun to be pulled down, and "instruments and tackle provided for to take down the tower," but in 1657 the church was made over by grant to the mayor and burgesses at their request, and from this it is to be assumed that they wished to prevent it from possible ruin. Mr Dorney, speaking in 1653, recommends to the officers of the city then elected, "that they would, together with others, join their shoulders to hold up the stately fabric of the College Church, the great ornament of this city, which some do say is now in danger of falling."