Life

The second son of Thomas Hawles of Moanton in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, by Elizabeth Antrobus of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, was born in the Close at Salisbury

Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

. His father, whose name is sometimes spelled Hollis, belonged to the family of Hawles of Upwimborne, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

. During the First English Civil War

First English Civil War

The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...

 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 School, and in 1662 entered Queen's College, Oxford, but left the university without taking a degree. He 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...

, was called to the bar, and rose in his profession.

On 25 March 1689 he was returned to the House of Commons as M.P. for Old Sarum

Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)

Old Sarum was the most infamous of the so-called 'rotten boroughs', a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which was effectively controlled by a single person, until it was abolished under the Reform Act 1832. The constituency was the site of what had been...

. But in 1691 he was not able to secure the recordership of London in competition with Sir Bartholomew Showers. On 1 July 1695 Hawles was appointed solicitor-general

Solicitor General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...

 in succession to Sir Thomas Trevor. In October of the same year he was returned for the borough of Wilton

Wilton (UK Parliament constituency)

Wilton was the name of a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1295 to 1707, then in the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of the Parliament of the...

 in Wiltshire, and in 1695 was knighted.

When a fresh parliament was summoned in 1698, Hawles sat for St. Michael

Mitchell (UK Parliament constituency)

Mitchell, or St Michael was a rotten borough consisting of the town of Mitchell, Cornwall. From the first Parliament of Edward VI, in 1547, it elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons.-History:The borough encompassed parts of two parishes, Newlyn East and St Enoder...

 in 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...

, and was also returned for Beeralston

Bere Alston (UK Parliament constituency)

Bere Alston or Beeralston was a parliamentary borough in Devon, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1584 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act as a rotten borough.-History:...

 in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

. In the parliament of 1700–1 he represented Truro, and for the short session of 1702 was member for St. Ives

St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)

St. Ives is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...

 in Cornwall. In 1702 he ceased to be solicitor-general, but continued to sit in parliament for Wilton until 1705, and from that year until 1710 for Stockbridge

Stockbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Stockbridge was a parliamentary borough in Hampshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1563 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act...

 in Hampshire.

As a prominent Whig lawyer he was appointed one of the managers of the impeachment of Henry Sacheverell

Henry Sacheverell

Henry Sacheverell was an English High Church clergyman and politician.-Early life:The son of Joshua Sacheverell, rector of St Peter's, Marlborough,...

in 1710. He resided for some years on the family estate at Upwimborne, and died on 2 August 1716.