Nicholas Bagenal

For the Welsh politician, see Nicholas Bagenal (Welsh MP).

Nicholas Bagenal
Born	1509 or 1510 probably Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Died	1590 or 1591 Newry, Co. Down
Occupation	Soldier
Spouse	Eleanor Griffith
Children	Sir Henry Bagenal, Dudley, Ambrose, Frances, Mary, Margaret, Isabel, Anne, Mabel.
Parents	John Bagenal

Sir Nicholas Bagenal or Bagnal (died 1591) was an English soldier, marshal of the army in Ireland.

Life

Born about 1510, he was second son of John Bagnal (died 1558), a tailor who served as mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme by his wife Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Whittingham of Middlewich, Cheshire, and cousin of William Whittingham, Dean of Durham. His elder brother, Sir Ralph Bagnal, was one of Henry VIII's courtiers.

Nicholas was a gentleman pensioner of Henry VIII, and in 1539 was sent to Ireland. There he became acquainted with Con O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone, and on 7 December 1542 the Irish council, at the suit of Tyrone, begged the king for pardon of Bagenal who fled on account of a murder. Bagnal returned to England in April 1544, and took part in the campaign in France in the following summer.

In March 1547 he was appointed by Edward VI marshal of the army in Ireland. In August 1548 he was with the lord deputy, Sir Edward Bellingham, when the Irish, who had invaded Kildare under Cahir O'Connor, were heavily defeated. In November 1551 he was sent by James Croft to expel the Scots who had invaded Dufferin. He was knighted in the same year, and on 22 April 1552 was granted the lands of St. Patrick's and St. Mary's abbeys in Newry, and the manor of Carlingford. On Mary's accession Bagnal lost his office of marshal, which was conferred on Sir George Stanley. He may have shared his brother's protestant views, and on 7 May 1556 was fined a thousand pounds. On 12 January 1559 he was elected to Elizabeth's first parliament as member for Stoke-on-Trent.

Stanley was continued as marshal in Ireland by Elizabeth, and on 23 April 1562 Bagnal wrote to the queen complaining that his lands brought him in nothing, owing to the depredations of Shane O'Neill. Bagnal had only a captaincy until Sir Nicholas Arnold's recommendations induced her to reappoint him marshal in 1565, when Sir Henry Sidney became deputy. Bagnal's patent was dated 5 October 1565, but he had scarcely taken up the office when, early in 1566, he entered into an agreement to sell it and his lands to Sir Thomas Stucley. The queen was suspicious of Stucley, and Bagnal remained marshal.

Remaining parts of Bagenal's Castle, Newry, built by Sir Nicholas Bagenal.^[1]

In this capacity Bagnal rebuilt Newry. He held the office of marshal for twenty-five years, and was appointed to other commissions besides. On 26 August 1583 his son Sir Henry Bagenal obtained the reversion of the marshalship, and acted as his father's deputy. Sir Nicholas was on 6 July 1584 appointed chief commissioner for the government of Ulster, and in April 1585 he was returned to the Irish parliament as member for County Down.

In January 1586 Sir John Perrot complained that Bagnal was too old to perform his duties as marshal; a feud between Bagnal and Perrot lasted until the lord deputy was recalled; on one occasion (15 July 1587) there was an affray between the two in Perrot's house. On 20 October 1590 Bagnal resigned the office of marshal on condition that it was conferred on his son, Sir Henry. He died at the end of 1590 or beginning of 1591.

Family

Bagnal married, about 1555, Eleanor, daughter of Sir Edward Griffith of Penrhyn, and left issue five sons and six daughters. Of the sons Sir Samuel was knighted by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex at Cadiz in 1596, was made commander-in-chief in Ulster on 28 September 1599 during Essex's absence, and became marshal in 1602. Sir Nicholas's daughter Mabel eloped with Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone.

The Welsh politician of the same name, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Anglesey and Custos Rotulorum of Anglesey, lived circa 1630 to 1690, and may have been a kinsman.

References

• Dictionary of National Biography, Bagnal, Sir Nicholas (1510?–1590?), marshal of the army in Ireland, by A. F. Pollard. Published 1901.

Notes

1. ^ http://www.bagenalscastle.com/documents/Bagenals%20Castle%20-%20A%20Brief%20History.pdf

External links

• Bagenal genealogy at the WeRelate wiki
• Bagenal's Castle
• Nicholas Bagenal 1509–1590
• Bagnall Village site

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Sidney Lee, ed (1901). Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement​. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 

Persondata
Name	Bagenal, Nicholas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	probably Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Date of death	1591
Place of death	Newry, Co. Down