Sir Christopher Hales (died 1541) was an English judge and

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

Family

The family of Hales was a most ancient one, deriving its name from

Hales Hales is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Hales is located south-east of Loddon and south-east of Norwich. History Hales' name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for nooks of land. In ...

in Norfolk, where the ancestor of the father of Roger de Hales (1274–1313), Ralph de Hales, also named Roger de Hales possessed property in the reign of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

. Before the close of Edward III's reign, it had removed into

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and was settled at Halden near

Tenterden Tenterden is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The 2021 census published the population of the parish to be 8,186. Geography Tenterden is connected to Kent's county town of Maidstone by the A262 road an ...

. The unfortunate Robert de Hales was of this family. Christopher Hales was the son of Thomas Hales. His mother was Alicia, one of the four daughters and co-heirs of Humphrey Eveas. Receiving his legal education at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, he rose to be an ancient in 1516, and Autumn Reader in 1524.

Career

On 14 August 1525, he succeeded

Richard Lyster Sir Richard Lyster (c. 1480 – 14 March 1554) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Origins and early career Sir Frederick Madden in his "Remarks on the Monument of Sir Richard Lyster in St. Michael's Church Southampton ...

solicitor-general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

, and became

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

on 3 June 1529. During his seven years in this office, he conducted the proceedings against several illustrious persons who had incurred the king's displeasure. He prosecuted

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...

by an indictment to which the cardinal made no defence; he appeared for the king against Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

and

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

on their last arraignment; and the trials of Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

and those charged with being implicated with her occurred during the last few months of his official tenure. On the elevation of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

to the office of

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

, Hales succeeded him as

on 10 July 1536, and retained the place for the five remaining years of his life, having received the honour of

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

soon after his appointment. In 1540 he was associated with

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

, Lord Chancellor Rich, and other commissioners in the work of remodelling the foundation of

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

, ousting the monks and supplying their place with secular clergy. He profited largely by the dissolution of the monasteries, obtaining many grants of land which had belonged to them in Kent. Hales died in June 1541, and was buried at Hackington or St. Stephen's, near

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. Hales' only son, John, died in 1546, and Hales' daughters became his coheirs.

Marriage and issue

Hales married Elizabeth Caunton, the daughter of John Caunton, an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of London, by whom he had a son, John, who died at the age of fourteen in 1546, and three daughters:. *Elizabeth Hales, who married first John Stocker and then Sir George Sydenham. Their daughter Elizabeth, born about 1562, became the second wife of

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

. *Margaret Hales, who married firstly Lewis West, secondly Ralph Dodmore, and thirdly William Horden of Kent. *Mary Hales, who married firstly Alexander Culpeper and secondly in 1554 Thomas Arundell.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * *: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 24, pp. 26–7. ;Attribution ''This article incorporates text from Foss's'' Judges of England, ''a publication now in the public domain.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, Christopher Attorneys general for England and Wales 1541 deaths

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

Masters of the Rolls Members of Gray's Inn People associated with the Dissolution of the Monasteries Year of birth unknown 16th-century English judges