Nicholas Arnold

Sir Nicholas Arnold (1507–1580) was an English courtier and politician, who held office as lord justice of Ireland. Life Nicholas Arnold was born at Churcham in Gloucestershire, the eldest surviving son of John Arnold and his wife Isabel Hawkins. His father was lord of the manors of Highnam and Over in Gloucestershire. In 1526, he entered the service of Thomas Cromwell, where he assisted Cromwell in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. By 1526, he was a gentleman pensioner of Henry VIII, and in 1538 he became 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 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 during the reign of Edward VI and spent time travelling in Italy.