John Arundell

John Arundell (by 1527 – 17 November 1590), of Lanherne, St. Mawgan-in-Pyder, Cornwall, was an English politician. He wasa noted recusant, anda closeassociate oftheCatholic martyr Cuthbert Mayne.

He was the eldest son of John Arundell (died 1557) and Elizabeth Dannett, daughter of Sir Gerald Dannett of Danett'sHall, Leicestershire. The Arundells were a wealthy and influential family with close connections to the Tudor dynasty. The head of the senior (Lanherne) branch of the family wasoften described as "the most important man in the county".The elder John'syounger brother Thomas was also a political figure of some eminence, who fell out ofRoyalfavour and was executedfor treason in 1552. John was imprisoned but never brought to trial. Under the Catholic Queen Mary I,the surviving Arundells, who werestaunch Catholics, regained much of their influence in Cornwall.

John Arundell married in 1557Lady Ann Stanley, widow of Charles Stourton, 8th Baron Stourton, and daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby and Lady Dorothy Howard. They hadthreechildren:

• John Arundell (1564–1633)who married Ann Jerningham, daughter of Henry Jerningham
• George Arundell who married Dorothy Viell
• Thomas Arundell

Arundell was a Member of the Parliament of England for Helston in 1545, Shaftesbury in 1547, Preston in 1555 and Cornwall in 1558.

Like his father,andmany othermembers of the Arundell family,he was an open Roman Catholic. He refused to subscribe to the Act of Uniformity 1559 and rarely attended Anglican services (despite the legal obligation to do soat least once a week). He was a close associate of the martyrCuthbert Mayne, and paid for the education of another Catholic martyr, John Cornelius, later to be the family chaplain. Because of his standing in the community he was left in peace until 1577, when his association with Cuthbert Mayne became public knowledge. He was arrested and spent some years in the Tower of London, andwas laterimprisoned in Ely Palace, from which he was released shortly before his death: he was also heavily fined by the Star Chamber.

His widow continued to engage in openly recusant activities. JohnCornelius served as her private chaplain, even though harbouring a Catholic priest had been made a capital offence by the Jesuits, etc. Act 1584. Cornelius wastried and executedunder the same Act in 1594, but Lady Arundell was apparently left in peace. She died in 1602.