Brass JohnHawley Died1408 StSaviour'sChurch Dartmouth

John Hawley (/50–30 December 1408) (''aliter'' "Hauley" and called "the elder"Susan Rose, ‘Hawley, John, the elder (c.1350–1408)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 5 Aug 2010
/ref>) of Dartmouth in Devon, was a wealthy ship owner who served fourteen times as Mayor of Dartmouth and was elected four times as a

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 o ...

for Dartmouth. He is reputed to have been the inspiration for Chaucer's "schipman". His magnificent

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the pav ...

survives in St Saviour's Church, Dartmouth.

Origins

He was the son of John Hawley of Dartmouth. His family reportedly came from the hamlet of Allaleigh and this may account for the origins of his name.

Career

He was Mayor of Dartmouth on fourteen occasions between 1374 and 1401 and was elected MP for Dartmouth four times, in 1390, 1393, 1394 and 1402.Rose (2004) Hawley was both a merchant and licensed privateer though he was often accused of piracy. He conducted a number of naval operations in the English Channel and briefly held the post of deputy to the Admiral of England under King Henry IV (1399-1413). He organised the defence of Dartmouth in 1404 against an attack by a Breton fleet, which culminated in the

Battle of Blackpool Sands The Battle of Blackpool Sands was the result of an attempted French raid on the port of Dartmouth, South Devon, England, in April or May 1404. Local forces defeated the raiders, taking a number of prisoners and killing the French commander, W ...

Marriage and progeny

He married twice: *Firstly to a certain Joan (died 12 July 1394) *Secondly to a certain Alice (died 7 Jan. 1403), by whom he had a son: ** John Hawley (d. 1436), (called "the Younger"), 12 times a Member of Parliament for Dartmouth. He is said to have married Emmeline (or Elizabeth or Margaret) Tresilian, said to have been an " idiot", the divorced wife of John Arundel, MP, and daughter and heiress of Sir

Robert Tresilian Sir Robert Tresilian (died 19 February 1388) was a Cornish lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench between 1381 and 1387. He was born in Cornwall, and held land in Tresillian, near Truro. Tresilian was deeply involved in the struggles b ...

(d.1388),

Chief Justice of the King's Bench Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

, executed for treason following condemnation by the Merciless Parliament of 1388, whose wardship and lands had been purchased by his father John Hawley the Elder. His daughter and eventual heiress Elizabeth Hawley (d.1457) married John Copleston (d.1458) of

Copplestone Copplestone (anciently Copelaston, Coplestone etc.) is a village, former manor and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. It is not an ecclesiastical parish as it has no church of its own, which reflects its status as a r ...

in the parish of Colebrooke, Devon, three times a

for

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.224, pedigree of Copleston

Death and burial

He died in December 1408 and was buried in St Saviour's Church, Dartmouth, where survives his magnificent

of John Hawley (d.1408) in St Saviour's Church, Dartmouth, showing him dressed as a fully-armed knight, flanked by his two wives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawley, John 1350 births 1408 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Dartmouth Mayors of Dartmouth, Devon English MPs January 1390 English MPs 1393 English MPs 1394 English MPs 1402