Sir Nicholas Arnold (1507–1580) was an English courtier and politician, who held office as lord justice of Ireland.

Life

Nicholas was born at

Churcham Churcham is a small village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean District of Gloucestershire in England, located west of Gloucester. It has a population of 655.Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, the eldest surviving son of John Arnold and his wife Isabel Hawkins. His father was lord of the manors of

Highnam Highnam is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of the city of Gloucester. It is three miles northwest of the city on the A40, on the way to Ross, west of Alney Island and Over Bridge. It is connected by Segregated Bicycle Paths via ...

and

Over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

in Gloucestershire. In 1530 he entered the service of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

and assisted him in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. He was by 1526 a

gentleman pensioner His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834, they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. Formation The corps was formed as the Troop of Gen ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and in 1538 one of the King's Bodyguard.

Soldier and politician

In 1546 he was sent to take charge of the English fort of Boulogneberg near

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

in France. In May 1549 the fort was attacked by the French but they were completely defeated; Arnold himself was wounded in the attack. After a second attack the following August, Arnold realised defence was hopeless and, dismantling the fort, withdrew to Boulogne. He was knighted some time during the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

(c.1553) and spent time travelling in Italy. He was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1545–47, 1553 and 1555. He was later MP for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in the Parliaments of 1559 and 1563 to 1567 and in 1571 MP for

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

. From 1558 to 1580, he was also the

Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire. *Sir Edmund Tame bef. 1544–1544 *Sir Anthony Kingston 1544?–1556 *Sir Nicholas Arnold bef. 1558–1580 *Sir Thomas Throckmorton bef. 1584 – 16 ...

and in 1558 and 1559 the

High Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...

. He was appointed one of the

Council of the Marches The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle w ...

of Wales in June 1574.

Lord justice of Ireland

He was lord justice 1564–65. He had already seen service in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

as member of a commission of inquiry into the conduct of the previous viceroy, Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, which dragged on for two years but ended inconclusively. Arnold was appointed lord justice on 24 May 1564. Arnold concentrated on the defence of the Pale. He did not prevent the feud between the Desmonds and the Ormonds that led to the

Battle of Affane The Battle of Affane (Irish: ''Cath Áth Mheáin'') was fought in County Waterford, in south-eastern Ireland, in 1565, between the forces of the Fitzgerald Earl of Desmond and the Butler Earl of Ormond. The battle ended in the rout of the Desm ...

early in 1565. As lord Justice he was regarded as a failure, being described as "quarrelsome, arbitrary and credulous", and within a year he was replaced by Sir

Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received ...

. The most serious charge against him was that he had done nothing to curb the growing power of Shane O'Neill, Prince of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, thus making inevitable the clash between O'Neill and the Crown which broke out after his departure. He unwisely quarrelled with the youthful, but increasingly powerful, Adam Loftus, then

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, and shortly to be

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

; and the favour he showed towards

Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...

aroused resentment among the other members of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

nobility. On his return, a vengeful Earl of Sussex brought articles of

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

against him, but these were ignored; in later years his interest in politics was mainly local. From 1572 he again served until his death as MP for Gloucestershire. He died at the end of 1580, and was buried at Churcham.

Character and religion

He was an exceptionally devout

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and, although he outwardly welcomed the accession of the Catholic Queen Mary, was suspected of involvement with Wyatt's Rebellion. He was twice committed to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, but nothing could be proved against him, and for the last two years of Mary's reign he was allowed to live on his estates. The

informer An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

William Thomas claimed that he had discussed Mary's assassination with Arnold, but at Wyatt's trial the Crown accepted that the conspirators has aimed only at preventing the Queen's marriage to

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

, and had not planned to kill her. In personality he was described as a "hard, iron, pitiless man", but resolute and hard-working. Most of his leisure time was dedicated to

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

, and he was credited with doing much to improve English bloodstock.

Marriages

He married twice: *Firstly Margaret Denys, daughter of Sir

William Denys Sir William Denys (c. 1470–1533) of Dyrham, Gloucestershire, was a courtier of King Henry VIII and High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1518 and 1526. The surname is sometimes transcribed as Dennis. Origins He was the eldest son and heir of Sir ...

(1470–1533) of

Dyrham Dyrham is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England. Location and communications Dyrham is at lat. 51° 29' north, long. 2° 22' west (). It lies at an altitude of 100 metres above sea level. It is near the A46 trunk road, about ...

, Gloucestershire. *Secondly Margaret Isham, daughter and co-heir of John Isham of Bryanstown and widow of Nicholas Hore of Harpersdown,

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. He had two sons and a daughter by his first marriage and one son by his second. His granddaughter Dorothy, daughter of his eldest son Rowland, was the first wife of Thomas Lucy, son of the courtier Sir

Thomas Lucy Sir Thomas Lucy (24 April 15327 July 1600) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1571 and 1585. He was a magistrate in Warwickshire, but is best known for his links to William Shakespeare. As a Protestant activist, he cam ...

, famous for his clashes with the young

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Notes, citations, and sources

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Nicholas 1507 births 1580 deaths 16th-century Anglo-Irish people English knights English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1571 English MPs 1572–1583 High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Cricklade Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Gloucester People associated with the Dissolution of the Monasteries People from Forest of Dean District