Life

He was the elder son of the Rev. Thomas Hamley of St. Columb

St Columb Major

St Columb Major is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as St Columb, it is situated approximately seven miles southwest of Wadebridge and six miles east of Newquay...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, who was buried at Bodmin

Bodmin

Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...

 11 June 1766, and was baptised at St. Columb Major 25 Oct. 1764. He matriculated from New College, Oxford

New College, Oxford

New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...

, 6 November 1783, and took his Bachelor of Civil Law

Bachelor of Civil Law

Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...

 degree in 1791. He was elected a fellow of his college 5 November 1785, and then spent some time in Italy.

While residing in the Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, in 1795, he published a volume entitled Poems of Various Kinds, 1795. At this period he was in correspondence with Dr. Samuel Parr

Samuel Parr

Samuel Parr , was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well that Samuel Johnson's, and the resemblances were at a superficial level, Parr being no prose stylist,...

, by whom he was called "the learned Mr. Hamley of New College".

In 1795 he also printed anonymously Translations, chiefly from the Italian of Petrarch and Metastasio. In the same year he wrote seventeen sonnet

Sonnet

A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...

s, which were afterwards inserted in the Poetical Register and Repository of Fugitive Poetry, at intervals between 1805 and 1809. He became rector of Cusop

Cusop

Cusop is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England that lies next to the town of Hay-on-Wye in Wales. It is reached by driving out of Hay towards Bredwardine, and turning right into Cusop Dingle....

, Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

, in 1805, and of Stanton St. John

Stanton St. John

Stanton St. John is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about northeast of the centre of Oxford.-Manor:The Domesday Book records that in 1086 William the Conqueror's half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux owned the manor Stanton St...

, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, in 1806, which benefices he held to his death.

He died at Stanton 7 December 1834.