Sir John Hawles (1645–1716), of Lincoln's Inn, was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

between 1689 and 1710.

Early life

Hawles was born in the Close at

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, the second son of Thomas Hawles of Moanton in Wiltshire, and his wife Elizabeth Antrobus of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, daughter of Thomas Antrobus of Heath House, Petersfield, Hampshire. His father, whose name is sometimes spelled Hollis, belonged to the family of Hawles of Upwimborne, Dorset. During the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

he was leader of the band known as the club men in Salisbury, who took the side of the parliament. John Hawles was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, and matriculated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

in 1662. He was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

on 10 February 1664, and was called to the bar in 1670.

Career

At the

1689 English general election The 1689 English general election, held in January 1689, elected the Convention Parliament (1689), Convention Parliament, which was summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution. 513 Members of Parliament were returned, across 53 counties ...

, the return for

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...

was declared void, and Hawles was returned as

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 Old Sarum at the re-election there on 25 March 1689. At the

1690 English general election The 1690 English general election occurred after the dissolution of the Convention Parliament summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, and saw the partisan feuds in that parliament continue in the constituencies. The Tories made signi ...

, he stood for Parliament at St Ives and

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

but was unsuccessful at both. In October 1691, he lost out for the recordership of London against with Sir Bartholomew Showers. On 1 July 1695 Hawles was appointed solicitor-general in succession to Sir Thomas Trevor. At the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ...

, he was returned unopposed as MP for Wilton and was chairman of the committee of privileges and elections from 1695 to January 1696. He was knighted on 28 November 1695. At the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' sup ...

, Hawles was returned in a contest for

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, and unopposed for

Bere Alston Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. History and geography With a population of about 2,000, the village lies in the Bere peninsula, between the river ...

but held both seats throughout the Parliament as there were petitions against both returns. He was returned as MP for

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

at a by-election on 4 March 1701, and at the second general election of 1701 was returned in a contest as MP for St Ives. At the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

he was returned in a contest as MP for Wilton again, but lost his place as solicitor-general. He was returned in a contest as Whig MP for Stockbridge at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

and voted for the Court candidate as Speaker on 25 October 1705. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

, he was returned unopposed as a Whig for Stockbridge. He was passed over for office and may have expressed his resentment by speaking against the Court on the treasons trial bill on 5 April 1709. Nevertheless, he was appointed as one of the managers of the impeachment of

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

in 1710 but offended his fellow Whigs by giving was on several points. He took no further part in the trial but voted for Sacheverell's impeachment. He was not returned to Parliament at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

, or subsequently.

Later life and legacy

Hawles resided for some years on the family estate at Upwimborne, and died unmarried on 2 August 1716. He left all his property to John Johnson of Lincoln's Inn, who may have been an illegitimate son.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawles, John 1645 births 1716 deaths British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Winchester College Solicitors General for England and Wales English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of England for Bere Alston