Life

He was the son of John Arnold, Lord of the manor of Highnam and Over, and his wife Isabel Hawkins.

In 1530 he entered the service of Thomas Cromwell and assisted him in the Dissolution of the Monasteries

Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

. He was by 1526 a gentleman pensioner of Henry VIII and in 1538 one of the king's bodyguard.

In 1546 he was sent to take charge of the English fort of Boulogneberg near Boulogne in France. In 1549 the fort was attacked by the French but they were completely defeated and Arnold was wounded. After a second attack 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 of England

Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...

 (c.1553) and spent time travelling in Italy.

He was the Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire (UK Parliament constituency)

The constituency of Gloucestershire was a UK Parliamentary constituency. After it was abolished under the 1832 Electoral Reform Act, two new constituencies, West Gloucestershire and East Gloucestershire, were created....

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

Gloucester (UK Parliament constituency)

Gloucester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was established in 1295 to return two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons but in 1885 representation was reduced to one member under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885...

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

Cricklade (UK Parliament constituency)

Cricklade was a parliamentary constituency named after the town of Cricklade in Wiltshire.From 1295 until 1885, Cricklade was a parliamentary borough, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously to the House of Commons of...

. From 1558 to 1580, he was also the Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire

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 – aft. 1596...

 and in 1558 and 1559 the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire

High Sheriff of Gloucestershire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...

. ]. He was appointed one of the Council of the Marches

Council of the Marches

The Council of Wales and the Marches was a regional administrative body within the Kingdom of England between the 15th and 17th centuries, similar to the Council of the North...

 of Wales in June 1574, and was Lord Deputy of Ireland

Lord Deputy of Ireland

The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...

 1564-65. From 1572 he again served until his death as MP for Gloucestershire.

He was a Protestant and was suspected of involvement with Wyatt's Rebellion

Wyatt's rebellion

Wyatt's Rebellion was a popular uprising in England in 1554, named after Thomas Wyatt the younger, one of its leaders. The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I's determination to marry Philip II of Spain, which was an unpopular policy with the English...

. He married twice, firstly Margaret, daughter of Sir William Denys of Dyrham and secondly Margaret the widow of Nicholas Hore of Harpersdown, Wexford, and daughter and co-heir of John Isham of Bryanstown.