Dr Nicholls was a College Lecturer in History and served for periods as President, Senior Tutor, Tutor for Graduates, Librarian and Head of Information Services and Systems.
He teaches for papers and options in British early modern history.
His research interests focus on Tudor and Stuart succession politics, treason law, criminal conspiracy, the Gunpowder Plot and Sir Walter Raleigh.
Investigating Gunpowder Plot (Manchester, 1991)
A History of the Modern British Isles: The two kingdoms, 1529-1603 (Oxford, 1999)
(With Penry Williams) Sir Walter Raleigh in life and legend (London, 2011)
(With Allen Boyer) The Rise and Fall of Treason in English History (Routledge, 2024)
