John Hales (c. 1400-1490) (''alias'' Hals, Halse, etc.) was
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
(1459-1490). He was one of the ''
Worthies of Devon'' of the biographer
John Prince (d.1723).
Origins
Hales was the second son of John Hals (fl.1423) of
Kenedon {{Short description, Historic manor in Devon, England
Kenedon is an historic manor situated in the parish of Sherford in Devon.
History
It is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenigedone'', the 55th of the 58 Devonshire holdings of Ralph ...
in the parish of
Sherford, Devon (a
Justice of the Common Pleas and in 1423 a
Justice of the King's Bench) by his first wife, a daughter of the Mewye (''alias'' Mewy) family of
Whitchurch near
Tavistock, Devon. His great-uncle was Richard Hals (d.1418), a
Canon of Exeter Cathedral in Devon, and
Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral in 1400, who in 1414 was sent as Ambassador to Brittany. Bishop Hals appointed his kinsman Edmund Hals as Archdeacon of Salop from an unknown date until 1485 and as Archdeacon of Derby from 1485, probably until his death. The mansion house of the Hals' at Kenedon, originally quadrangular in form, is today represented by a small 16th c. farmhouse known as ''Keynedon'', about 1 mile south of the village of Sherford. The early 15th century gate-tower of the house was demolished in about 1850.
Career
Hales was
Provost of
Oriel College, Oxford
Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...
, from 1446 to 1449. He was
Dean of Exeter
The Dean of Exeter is the head of the Chapter of Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England. The chapter was established by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter (1224–44) who set up the offices of dean and chancellor of Exeter Cathedral ...
between 1457 and 1459. In 1470, during the reign of King
Henry VI, Hales was appointed
Keeper of the Privy Seal, but lost the office on the restoration of King
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
in 1471.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 96] Hales was nominated as
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
on 20 September 1459, and was consecrated on 25 November 1459. He died between 15 and 30 September 1490,
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 254] aged about 90, and was buried in
Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...
.
[Prince, p.457]
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, John
15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Bishops of Lichfield
Deans of Exeter
1490 deaths
Lords Privy Seal
Year of birth unknown
Provosts of Oriel College, Oxford