John Arnold of Monmouthshire
John Arnold | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1635 |
Died | 1702 |
Nationality | English born in Southwark, London |
Other names | John Arnold of Monmouthshire |
Occupations |
|
Political party | Whig |
Relatives | Sir Edward Moore (grandfather) |
John Arnold, widely known as John Arnold of Monmouthshire (c. 1635 – 1702), was an English
Earlier life
Arnold was born in Southwark, around 1635, the first son of Nicholas Arnold of Llanvihangel Crucorney and his wife Lettice Moore, and the maternal grandson of Sir Edward Moore of Drogheda, County Louth. The Arnold family had their seat in Llanthony Priory by the end of the 16th century but had to lease it to the Hoptons owing to financial difficulties.[1] Llanvihangel Court became the family seat and John succeeded his father in 1665. Educated in Southwark, he became Sheriff of Monmouthshire in 1669.[2]
Arnold was made a deputy lieutenant, captain of the county troops, and
Popish Plot period
Arnold's popularity declined further in March 1678 when he raided the
In the winter of 1678–9, Arnold was restored to the bench at the request of Worcester's son,
Arnold was again at the centre of controversy in April 1680 when he was apparently the victim of an attack by a Catholic, John Giles, who (Arnold alleged) tried to stab him to death in
In January 1681, Arnold supported the case for removing the Earl of Halifax and Laurence Hyde from the King's counsels. At this time he was given a large armed guard to protect him during his travels to Oxford against Papist attacks. In September 1681, Feria claimed that Arnold had offered him £300 to testify that he had seen the Marquess of Worcester at mass at the Portuguese Embassy and alleged that Arnold had called the king a Papist.[1] His sanity was increasingly questioned, and it was said he would attack complete strangers in the street, accusing them of being Papists. He was infuriated by the decision to create his arch-enemy Worcester as Duke of Beaufort, which he took as a personal insult.
Court case and fall
In 1682, he reportedly said "the Marquess of Worcester is a Papist and as deeply concerned in the Popish Plot and as guilty of endeavouring to introduce Popery and the subversion of the Protestant religion as any of the Jesuits that justly suffered for it, and I doubt not but to make the said Marquess and his crooked-back son to suffer for it in time". For this, he was brought to trial in the
Later life
In the general election of 1689, Arnold stood for Southwark and formed an electoral alliance with the Tory, Sir Peter Rich.[1] From 1695–98 he was again MP for Monmouth but he continued to be very unpopular due to his extreme views.[2] Under William III, Arnold remained a court Whig and was replaced by his son after his death in 1702 during the Monmouthshire taxation commission. Arnold's estates were sold in 1726.[1]
Family
He married Margaret, the daughter of William Cooke of Highnam, Gloucestershire and had 3 sons and 2 daughters. They lived at Llanvihangel Court, which was sold by his successor in 1726.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Henning, B. D. (1983). "The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690". Boydell and Brewer.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "A History of Llanvihangel Court and its Owners". Ewyaslacy.org.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ Catholic Record Society (Great Britain) (1982). Recusant history. Catholic Record Society. p. 81. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ "Anti-popery on the Welsh Marches in the Seventeenth Century". The Historical Journal. 23 (2). Cambridge University Press. 1 June 1980. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7190-4695-7. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ "Wales and the Order of the Royal Oak". National Library of Wales Journal. 24 (3). Summer 1986. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 14 March 2012 (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- ^ "ARNOLD, John (c.1635–1702), of Llanvihangel Crucorney, Mon". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 July 2013.