Sir Nicholas Poyntz (1510—circa 28 November 1556) was a prominent English courtier during the latter part of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's reign.

Life

Poyntz was the eldest son of Anthony Poyntz (1480?–1532), vice-admiral, and his first wife, Elizabeth Huddefield. His uncle was John Poyntz. On 21 August 1535, Henry VIII and

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

visited Poyntz at Acton Court, Iron Acton, Gloucestershire. Poyntz had built a special new lodging for his royal guests, which still survives. It contained three first-floor state rooms, and one of these still has painted decorations by an artist of the Tudor court. These staterooms are connected to the older house by a covered walkway called a "pentice". Archaeological excavations found fragments of precious Venetian glass and maiolica which Poyntz probably bought for the visit. The evidence of lengthy preparations by Poyntz at Acton shows that Henry's progress in the west of England was planned in advance. In 1539 and 1545, Poyntz served as

High Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...

and in 1547 represented

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

in Parliament as a Knight of the Shire. Between 1544 and 1556 Poyntz built a hunting lodge Newark Park, near the village of Ozleworth,

Wotton-under-Edge Wotton-under-Edge is a market town and civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. Near the southern fringe of the Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills ...

. This was built at about the same time as nearby Siston Court was being built by Maurice Denys (d.1563), first cousin of Poyntz's wife Joan Berkeley. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

in 1555. During the war of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (; December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...

with Scotland (1543–1550), Poyntz commanded the warship the ''Great Galley''. In May 1544, Edward Seymour sent him to burn

Kinghorn Kinghorn (; ) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. Known as the place where K ...

and other towns in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, while Edinburgh was sacked and burnt.Ben Lowe, ''Commonwealth and the English Reformation: Protestantism and the Politics of Religious Change in the Gloucester Vale'' (Ashgate, 2010), p. 167: ''The Late Expedition in Scotland'' (London, 1544). Poyntz married Joan, daughter of Thomas Berkeley, Baron Berkeley (d. 1533) with whom he had five or six sons and three daughters. He died on 27 or 28 November 1556. He was succeeded by his eldest son,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

. After his death, his widow made a disastrous second marriage to Thomas Dyer, who treated her cruelly. She died in 1564. There is a portrait drawing of Poyntz by

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...

in the Royal Collection and an oil portrait after the same artist based on the drawing in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

, London. One further portrait also exists after Holbein.

References

Attribution

External links

Acton Court, built by Nicholas Poyntz in 1535

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poyntz, Nicholas 1510 births 1557 deaths English people of the Rough Wooing High sheriffs of Gloucestershire English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1555 Politicians from Gloucestershire Members of Parliament for Cricklade