John Hawkins (geologist)
Encyclopedia
John Hawkins was a geologist, traveller and writer,
He was the youngest son of Thomas Hawkins of Trewinnard, St Erth
, Cornwall
, M.P. for Grampound
, by Anne, daughter of James Heywood of London. His older brother, Sir Christopher Hawkins, became an MP and mineowner.
He was educated at Helston
school, Winchester College
, and took his BA from Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1782. He then entered Lincoln's Inn
(the family tradition was the practice of law), but decided to travel instead, and in Germany he studied mining and mineralogy.
Hawkins was a man of considerable means, (owning much Cornish mining
property) and inherited the Trewithen Estate. He devoted his long life to the study of literature, science, and art. He travelled in Greece, where he purchased stele, and in the Levant
, and wrote dissertations ‘On the Syrinx of Strabo and the Passage of the Euripus,’ ‘On the site of Dodona,’ and the like which are printed in Robert Walpole's Memoirs of European and Asiatic Turkey (1818), and Walpole's Travels in various Countries of the East.
In 1806 Hawkins purchased Bignor Park, Sussex
, formerly the residence of the poet Charlotte Turner Smith
. In 1826-32 he rebuilt the house as a secondary residence more convenient to Westminster than his Cornish estate, and collected a great number of valuable paintings, drawings to add to his antiquities.
Hawkins, who was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1791, wrote a number of papers on scientific subjects, most of them connected with the geology of Cornwall
(a full list is given in Boase and Courtney'S Bibliotheca Cornubiensis, i. 222, 223, iii. 1224).
He was a founder member of the Royal Horticultural Society
, an honorary member of the Geological Society of London
, and a founder member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall
. He contributed papers to the RGSC on the submarine mine at Wherrytown
, near Penzance
.
Hawkins was a correspondent of Davies Gilbert
and Gideon Mantell
.
In 1826 he served the office of High Sheriff of Sussex
; he also served as a magistrate in both Cornwall and Sussex. He died at his seat of Trewithen, Cornwall. He married Hester, daughter of Humphrey Sibthorpe, M.P. for Lincoln, and had four sons and two daughters. The eldest, John Heywood Hawkins (1802–1877), was M.P. for Newport, Isle of Wight
, from 1833 to 1841, and inherited his Sussex properties, the younger son, Christopher (1820–1903) inheriting the Cornish properties.
He was the youngest son of Thomas Hawkins of Trewinnard, St Erth
St Erth
St Erth is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The village is situated four miles southeast of St Ives and six miles northeast of Penzance....
, 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...
, M.P. for Grampound
Grampound (UK Parliament constituency)
Grampound in Cornwall, was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1821. It was represented by two Members of Parliament.-History:Grampound's...
, by Anne, daughter of James Heywood of London. His older brother, Sir Christopher Hawkins, became an MP and mineowner.
He was educated at Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
school, Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, and took his BA from Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1782. He then entered Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of 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. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
(the family tradition was the practice of law), but decided to travel instead, and in Germany he studied mining and mineralogy.
Hawkins was a man of considerable means, (owning much Cornish mining
Mining in Cornwall
Mining in Cornwall and Devon began in the early Bronze Age approximately 2,150 BC and ended with the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall closing in 1998...
property) and inherited the Trewithen Estate. He devoted his long life to the study of literature, science, and art. He travelled in Greece, where he purchased stele, and in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, and wrote dissertations ‘On the Syrinx of Strabo and the Passage of the Euripus,’ ‘On the site of Dodona,’ and the like which are printed in Robert Walpole's Memoirs of European and Asiatic Turkey (1818), and Walpole's Travels in various Countries of the East.
In 1806 Hawkins purchased Bignor Park, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, formerly the residence of the poet Charlotte Turner Smith
Charlotte Turner Smith
Charlotte Turner Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility....
. In 1826-32 he rebuilt the house as a secondary residence more convenient to Westminster than his Cornish estate, and collected a great number of valuable paintings, drawings to add to his antiquities.
Hawkins, who was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1791, wrote a number of papers on scientific subjects, most of them connected with the geology of Cornwall
Geology of Cornwall
The Geology of Cornwall is dominated by its granite backbone, part of the Cornubian batholith, formed during the Variscan orogeny. Around this is an extensive metamorphic aureole formed in the mainly Devonian slates that make up most of the rest of the county...
(a full list is given in Boase and Courtney'S Bibliotheca Cornubiensis, i. 222, 223, iii. 1224).
He was a founder member of the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
, an honorary member of the Geological Society of London
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
, and a founder member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall
Royal Geological Society of Cornwall
The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society based in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in the world....
. He contributed papers to the RGSC on the submarine mine at Wherrytown
Wherrytown
Wherrytown is a small settlement in west Cornwall, United Kingdom, situated between Newlyn and Penzance on the east side of the Larigan River. The village bore the brunt of the Ash Wednesday storm on 7 March 1962 with most of the buildings destroyed along with nearly one mile of the seafront from...
, near Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
.
Hawkins was a correspondent of Davies Gilbert
Davies Gilbert
Davies Gilbert FRS was a British engineer, author, and politician. He was elected to the Royal Society on 17 November 1791 and served as President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830....
and Gideon Mantell
Gideon Mantell
Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS was an English obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist...
.
In 1826 he served the office of High Sheriff of Sussex
High Sheriff of Sussex
-History:The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the...
; he also served as a magistrate in both Cornwall and Sussex. He died at his seat of Trewithen, Cornwall. He married Hester, daughter of Humphrey Sibthorpe, M.P. for Lincoln, and had four sons and two daughters. The eldest, John Heywood Hawkins (1802–1877), was M.P. for Newport, Isle of Wight
Newport (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)
Newport was a parliamentary borough located in Newport , which was abolished in for the 1885 general election. It was occasionally referred to by the alternative name of Medina....
, from 1833 to 1841, and inherited his Sussex properties, the younger son, Christopher (1820–1903) inheriting the Cornish properties.