Sir Edward Hales, 1st Baronet (1576–1654) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in various years between 1605 and 1648. He supported the Parliamentarian side in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Family

Edward Hales was the son of William Hales of

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of Paul Johnson of

Fordwich Fordwich is a market town and a civil parish in east Kent, England, on the River Stour, northeast of Canterbury. It is the smallest community by population in Britain with a town council. Its population increased by 30 between 2001 and 2011. ...

. His paternal grandfather was Edward Hales, third son of

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 ...

(1469/70 – c. 1540), Baron of the Exchequer, and younger brother of Sir

James Hales Sir James Hales (c. 1500–1554) was an English people, English judge from Kent, the son of the politician and judge John Hales (died 1540), John Hales. Though a Protestantism, Protestant, he refused to seal the document settling the crown on t ...

(c. 1500–1554), Justice of the Common Pleas, whose suicide, the subject of a lawsuit in ''Hales v. Petit'', is thought to be alluded to in the gravedigger's speech in

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play, ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''.

Career

Hales was elected MP for

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in 1605 and 1614, and appointed

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

for 1608–1609 and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

on 29 June 1611. In 1625, Hales was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Queenborough Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England. Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where it joins the River M ...

for one parliament, and then in 1626 was elected MP for

for one parliament. In April 1640 he was re-elected MP for Queenborough for the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

. He was elected again in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

, and held the seat until 1648 when he was excluded under

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

. Hales died in 1654 at the age of 78.

Marriages and issue

Hales married firstly Deborah Harlakenden, daughter of Martin Harlakenden of

Woodchurch, Kent :''There is another Woodchurch in Kent, a hamlet in the Manston civil parish within the Thanet district.'' Woodchurch is a Kent village, the largest civil parish in the Borough of Ashford. It is centred from the market town of Ashford and fro ...

, and through her acquired the Woodchurch estates. He married secondly Martha Cromer, daughter of Sir Matthew Carew, and widow of Sir James Cromer of

Tunstall, Kent Tunstall is a linear village and civil parish in Swale in Kent, England. It is about 2 km to the south-west of the centre of Sittingbourne, on a road towards Bredgar. History In 1798, Edward Hasted records that it had once been called ''Dunstal ...

, and through her acquired the Tunstall estates. She also inherited the manor of 'Herst Hall' in

Murston Murston is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. It is about 1 mile north-east of central Sittingbourne, on the east bank of the Milton Creek. History According to Edward Hasted in 1798, it was once called 'Muston'. The parish contains about ...

. His children by his first wife included a son, Sir John Hales, who pre-deceased him. He was then succeeded by his grandson Sir Edward Hales, 2nd Baronet. The latter was a Royalist and supporter of King Charles I, who attempted to raise an army for the King in Kent and was involved in an attempt to free the King when he was imprisoned at

Carisbrooke Castle Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke (near Newport), Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial. Early history The site of Carisbro ...

. Having incurred the wrath of both Parliament and his grandfather, the future second baronet fled to the Netherlands.

Footnotes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, Edward 1576 births 1654 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Roundheads English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 High Sheriffs of Kent People from Woodchurch, Kent