Arundell was an Esquire of the Body to King Henry VIII, and was knighted at the Battle of the Spurs in 1513. In 1523 he achieved notability by the capture of a notorious pirate. Under King Edward VI he was Vice-Admiral of the West and served twice as Sheriff of Cornwall, in 1542 and in 1553 at the time of the accession of Queen Mary.
Marriages and children
Arundell married twice:
Firstly at some time before 1512 to Mary Beville, daughter and co-heiress of John Beville of Gwarnick, Cornwall, by whom he had children:
*Roger Arundell, declared a lunatic, who predeceased his father, having married Elizabeth Denham, daughter of Robert Tredenham of Tredenham, Cornwall. His son was John Arundell, who inherited the Beville estate of Gwarnick from his grandmother. He died aged 56 without children and was buried in Lambeth Church, Surrey. His heir to Trerice became his half-uncle John Arundell, with whom he had been involved in much litigation, finally settled by a private Act of Parliament in favour of his uncle.
*Katherine Arundell, wife of Richard Prideaux of Thuborough in the parish of Sutcombe, Devon. She was heir to her nephew John Arundell of Gwarnick.
Secondly in 1526 to Juliana Erissey, daughter of James Erissey of Erissey and widow of a certain Gourlyn, by whom he had children including:
*John Arundell of Trerice, father of Sir John Arundell of Trerice, nicknamed "Jack-for-the-King", a prominent leader of the Royalist cause in Cornwall during the Civil War, partly in recognition of which service his son Richard Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Trerice was raised to the Peerage in 1664.
Illegitimate children
Sir John had an illegitimate son Robert Arundell, who founded his own branch of the family at Menadarva, Cornwall, and adopted as his arms the hirondelle arms of Arundell debruised with a bend sinister for bastardy.
His monumental brasses survive in St Andrew's Church, Stratton, Cornwall. In 1882 a monument was situated at the east end of the north aisle of the church, formed of a chest tomb on top of which was a slab of stone inlaid with several brasses, of which some were then missing, as revealed by matrices. Today only the slab with brasses survives, with some further brasses missing, and stands against the west wall of the church. The brasses show Sir John flanked by his two wives with two groups of his children below and two individual children between himself and each wife. Other brasses are heraldic escutcheons. The inscription on the ledger line of the slab is as follows: The date of death inscribed on his monument disagrees with that reported in his Inquisition post mortem, namely 26 November 1560, which latter appears to be correct as probate of his will was granted to his widow Juliana on 23 January 1560/1. He is shown dressed in full armour with helmet. Of the four original brass escutcheons only two survive. The one above the wife on his right hand side shows the arms of Arundell with six quarters:
1:Sable, a wolf between six swallows argent
2:Sable, three chevronels argent
3:Argent, a bend engrailed sable on a chief gules three mullets or pierced azure
4:Argent, a chevron sable between three bucks gules
5:Azure, a lion rampant gardant argent debruised by a fess gules
6:Sable, a chevron argent between three bezants.
The escutcheon above the wife on his left hand side shows the arms of Arundell with the same six quarters impaling Grenville: Gules, three clarions or. The arms of Arundell are the well-known hirondelle arms but with the addition of a wolf passant between two groups of three swallows. This wolf is believed to be the arms of Trembleigh, in consequence of one of the Arundell's having married the heiress of that family.
