John Hales (c.1516 – 26 or 28 December 1572) was a writer, administrator, and member of parliament during the
Tudor period
The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...
.
Family
John Hales was the son of Thomas Hales of Hales Place,
Halden
Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...
, Kent, and of 'the daughter of Trefoy of the county of
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
'. He had four brothers and a sister:
*John Hales, who died without issue.
*Christopher Hales, of
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, who married Mary Lucy, the daughter of William Lucy, esquire, and Anne Fermor, and sister of
Sir Thomas Lucy of
Charlecote, Warwickshire.
*Bartholomew Hales (died 1599), esquire, of
Snitterfield
Snitterfield is a village and civil parish in the Stratford on Avon district of Warwickshire, England, less than to the north of the A46 road, from Stratford upon Avon, from Warwick and from Coventry. The population of the civil parish at th ...
, Warwickshire, who married Mary Harper, the daughter of George Harper (died 12 December 1558) by his first wife, Lucy Peckham (d. 31 July 1552), daughter of Thomas Peckham.
*Stephen Hales (d. 27 March 1574), esquire, of Newland and Exhall,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, freeman of the
Merchant Taylors' Company
]
The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London.
The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...
in 1552, Warden in 1557, 1564 and 1565, and one of the four founders of the
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Merchant Taylors' School, who married firstly Amy Morison, the daughter of Thomas Morison of
Chardwell, Yorkshire, and sister of
Sir Richard Morison, and secondly, before 1561, Bridget Over, widow of John Nethermill, and daughter of Henry Over, who survived him.
*Mildred Hales (died 1596) who married Thomas Docwra (died 1602) of Putteridge in
Offley
Offley is a civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire, between Hitchin and Luton. The main village is Great Offley, and the parish also contains the nearby hamlets of Little Offley and The Flints. In the south-west of the parish, nea ...
, Hertfordshire; their son, Thomas Docwra, married Jane Peryam, the daughter of
Sir William Peryam
Sir William Peryam (15349 October 1604) of Little Fulford, near Crediton in Devon, was an English judge who rose to the position of Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1593, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.
Origins
Peryam was born in ...
.
Under Henry VIII
According to Lowe, Hales may have spent some time at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, but 'was largely a self-taught scholar of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and the law'. He spent his early years in the household of
Sir Christopher Hales,
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
and
Master of the Rolls, and after nine years' service there, was dismissed after having expressed a wish to leave his employment. By 1535 he was in the service of
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...
.
[.] In 1537 he was appointed clerk to Sir
John Gostwick
Sir John Gostwick (c.1480 – 15 April 1545) was an English courtier, administrator and MP.
Life
He was born as the son of John Gostwick in Willington, Bedfordshire, and educated in Potton. Around 1510, he entered the service of Cardinal Wolsey ...
in the office of
First Fruits and Tenths
Annates ( or ; la, annatae, from ', "year") were a payment from the recipient of an ecclesiastical benefice to the ordaining authorities. Eventually, they consisted of half or the whole of the first year's profits of a benefice; after the appropr ...
, and by 1541 had become deputy to the Clerk of the
Hanaper
Hanaper, properly a case or basket to contain a " hanap" ( O. Eng. ''kneels'': cf. Dutch ''nap''), a drinking vessel, a goblet with a foot or stem; the term which is still used by antiquaries for medieval stemmed cups. The famous Royal Gold Cup ...
,
Sir Ralph Sadler. In 1545 Hales and Sadler were granted a joint patent for the office. According to Bindoff, the records show that Hales 'bore the brunt of the work' at the
Hanaper
Hanaper, properly a case or basket to contain a " hanap" ( O. Eng. ''kneels'': cf. Dutch ''nap''), a drinking vessel, a goblet with a foot or stem; the term which is still used by antiquaries for medieval stemmed cups. The famous Royal Gold Cup ...
, and in addition assisted Sadler with his duties as
Master of the Great Wardrobe
The King's Wardrobe, together with the Chamber, made up the personal part of medieval English government known as the King's household. Originally the room where the king's clothes, armour, and treasure were stored, the term was expanded to descr ...
.
On 6 June 1540, during the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, Hales purchased from
Sir Richard Morison the former
Priory of St Mary Without Bishopsgate
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...
in London for £500, and on 16 December 1544 purchased from
Sir Ralph Sadler the former monastery of the
Whitefriars in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
for £83 12s 6d. Hales converted part of the Whitefriars into a residence, Hales Place, and set up a free grammar school in what had been the choir. In 1545 he was granted licence to establish the free school as
King Henry VIII School in the former St John's Hospital in Coventry. Hales provided lands valued at 200 marks for the school's maintenance.
Under Edward VI
When
King Edward VI came to the throne in 1547, Hales was appointed a
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
for
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
and
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, and became a member of parliament for
Preston, Lancashire
Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...
.
[.]
Hales supported the economic policies pursued by the young King's uncle,
Protector Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...
. Hales was particularly opposed to the
enclosure of land, and is said to have been the most active of the commissioners appointed in 1548 to redress this evil. However he failed to carry several remedial measures through Parliament.
When Somerset fell from power in October 1549, Hales was imprisoned in the
Tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
, likely as a result of his support for Somerset's policies. He was released in 1550, and after enfeoffing his lands to his brother, Stephen, and to
Sir Ralph Sadler, obtained licence on 2 February 1551 to leave England in the company of
Sir Richard Morison, who was being sent as ambassador to
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...
.
Marian exile
Hales lived in Germany with his brother, Christopher, principally at
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, until
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
came to the throne. While there he formed a friendship with the scholar
Sturmius.
[; .]
Under Elizabeth I
Hales was back in England by 3 January 1559, and resumed his former position at the
Hanaper
Hanaper, properly a case or basket to contain a " hanap" ( O. Eng. ''kneels'': cf. Dutch ''nap''), a drinking vessel, a goblet with a foot or stem; the term which is still used by antiquaries for medieval stemmed cups. The famous Royal Gold Cup ...
. He was one of the Members of Parliament for
Lancaster from 1563 to 1567.
Hales lost royal favour, however, by writing a
succession tract
The succession tracts of the Elizabethan period, continuing into the reign of James I of England, debated the legal status, and other attributes, of candidates to succeed Elizabeth I of England.
Early tracts
Later tracts
A statute of 1581 for ...
entitled ''A Declaration of the Succession of the Crowne Imperiall of Inglande'', supporting the title to the crown of the descendants of
King Henry VIII's younger sister
Mary. Mary's granddaughter
Lady Catherine Grey had secretly married
Edward Seymour, and the Queen had had them both imprisoned. Hales took the position that if the Queen were to have no children, Lady Catherine should be next in line to the throne. Hales was imprisoned for his temerity. On 27 April 1564
Sir William Cecil wrote to
Sir Thomas Smith that:
Here is fallen out a troublesome fond matter. John Hales had secretly made a book in the time of the last Parliament wherein he hath taken upon him to discuss no small matter, viz., the title to the Crown after the Queen’s Majesty, having confuted and rejected the line of the Scottish Queen, and made the line of the Lady Frances, mother to the Lady Catherine, only next and lawful. He is committed to the Fleet for this boldness, specially because he had communicated it to sundry persons. My Lord John Grey is in trouble also for it. Beside this, John Hales hath procured sentences and counsels of lawyers from beyond seas to be written in maintenance of the Earl of Hertford’s marriage. This dealing of his offendeth the Queen’s Majesty very much.
With Cecil's help Hales obtained his release from prison in 1566, but remained under house arrest for the next four years.
Death
The date of Hales's death is uncertain. According to Bindoff, he died on 26 December 1572, while according to Lowe, he died two days later on 28 December.
He was buried in the Church of
St Peter le Poer
St Peter le Poer was a parish church on the west side of Broad Street in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt in 1540, and again in 1792 to a design by Jesse Gibson with a circular nave. It was demolished in 1907.
Early histor ...
in Broad Street, London. He was sometimes referred to as "Club-foot" Hales, supposedly because he had accidentally wounded his foot with a dagger.
Works
Hales wrote his ''Highway to Nobility'' about 1543. He wrote ''Introductiones ad grammaticum'' for his newly founded free school. In 1543 he also published ''Precepts for the Preservation of Health'', a translation from
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
.
Hales was likely the author of the anonymous
mercantilist
Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
tract,
''The Discourse of the Common Weal of this Realm of England'' (1581), which has been regarded by some commentators as being the "first" economics tract in the English language.
Heir
Hales had never married and left most of his property to his nephew
John Hales John Hales may refer to:
*John Hales (theologian) (1584–1656), English theologian
* John Hales (bishop of Exeter) from 1455 to 1456
*John Hales (bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) (died 1490) from 1459 to 1490
* John Hales (died 1540), MP for Cante ...
, a son of his brother Christopher Hales by his brother's marriage to Mary Lucy.
Notes
;Attribution
*
References
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*: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 24, pp. 29–30.
External links
Hales, John (d.1572), History of Parliament Hales, Stephen (d.1574), History of Parliament Will of Stephen Hales, National Archives Harper, George (1503–58), History of Parliament Will of Sir George Harper, National ArchivesBartholomew Hales, manor of Snitterfield Morison, Sir Richard (1514–56), History of Parliament King Henry VIII Grammar School*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, John
1510s births
1572 deaths
Year of birth unknown
People from Kent
16th-century English writers
16th-century male writers
English MPs 1547–1552
English MPs 1563–1567
English male non-fiction writers