Sir James Hales, Judge

 Sir James Hales was a Judge and was involved in receiving Ann of Cleves at Dover. He eventually fell out of favour with Queen Mary which drove him mad. As a result of this unbalanced state of mind, he drowned himself in a shallow stream at the opposite end of the City in Thanington. As a result of this action, his widow sued for the trespass done to a leasehold estate. (This lady was well ahead of her time!) For anyone reading this page that has to be involved in legal matters, the following extract from the contemporary Plowden's report might prove amusing: "Sir James Hale was dead, and how came he to his death? It may be answered by drowning; and who drowned him? Sir James Hales; and when did he drown him? In his life-time. So that Sir James Hales being alive caused Sir James Hales to die; and the act of a living man was the act of a dead man. And then after this offence it is reasonable to punish the living man who committed the offence and not the dead man". See, even in those days lawyers tied the English language in knots just to extract exorbitant fees! Sir James Hales was at one time a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas at the time of our old friend Henry VIII. Shortly after the death of Henry, Sir James, depite being a Protestant, refused to subscibe to the King's Will which among other things, stated that Mary and Elizabeth were to be disinherited. To cut a long story short, this led him into further trouble and he eventually ended up in the Tower where he tried to commit suicide. He was eventually released and returned to his home in Canterbury, Tonford Manor, where, unfortunately, the poor old boy went completely mad which eventually caused him to throw himself in the nearby River Stour where he drowned. Suicide was, of course, in those days a terrible sin but in a twist of fate upon which hung the tenure of the family property, the 16th Century Courts ruled in effect, in what might be termed in the Courts these days, that he actually drowned himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed. The fact that the event is depicted on this monument was probably an attempt by the family at absolution for the sin of suicide. Sir James Hales K.B. was born circa 1470 in Canterbury, Kent. He was the son of a Canterbury lawyer. He was the son of John Hales and Isabel Harry.

    Sir James Hales K.B. married Margaret Hales, daughter of Thomas Hales.

    Justice of the Common Pleas In the reign of Henry VIII (1509 - 1574) the family of HALES made its first appearance among the Judges of England. James Hales the eldest son of John Hales and Isabel Harry of the Dungeon near Canterbury was a member of Gray's Inn, where he was an ancient in 1528, autumn reader in 1533, double Lent reader in 1537, and a triple Lent reader in 1540. James Hales was created a knight of the Bath at the coronation of Edward V, on February 20, 1547. He married Margaret Hales daughter of Thomas Hales of Henley-on-Thames. On May 10, 1549 he was appointed a judge of the common pleas. Sir James Hales had the privilege of keeping swans, a much sought after grant from the crown, which allowed captivity on his own private waters of this royal bird. The birds were pinioned and marked with his private marking. James was created a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King Edward VI on 20 February 1546/47. James was a judge of the common pleas from 1549. He was of Grays' Inn and became Chief justice to the common.

    James died on 4 August 1554 in Thanington, Kent. He attempted suicide when in Fleet Prison and was released, only to succeed by drowning himself in a shallow stream later in the year. The date may be 1555.

    From a commentary on the web about Foxes Martyrs - Judge Hales: In the Rerum, Foxe praised Sir James Hales's prudence, gravity, and excellence as a justice. He also extolled Hales's devotion to the gospel, describing the justices daily scripture readings to his household. The Rerum goes on to relate that Hales insisted on enforcing the Edwardian statutes which prohibited the celebration of mass and because of this he was summoned before Stephen Gardiner, the lord chancellor (Rerum, pp. 261-62). The Rerum then reprinted, in its entirety, a translation of a contemporary protestant pamphlet relating the interview between Hales and Gardiner (Rerum, pp. 262-63, cf. The communication betwene my lord chauncelor and judge Hales in Westminster hall. M. D. Liii. V. of October [London? 1553]). The Rerum continues by relating that Hales was imprisoned and worn down by the catholics and reduced to despair. (Foxe blamed, in some detail, a gentleman of Hampshire named Forster, Bishop Day of Chichester and Sir William Portman, Chief Justice of the King's and Queen's Bench, for putting pressure on Hales). Eventually Hales tried to kill himself with a penknife. (Foxe maintained that this demonstrated that Hales was not in his right mind). Hearing of this, Gardiner publicly denounced protestantism as a 'doctrine of desperation'. Hales was released and returned home where he drowned himself, either from remorse, insanity or to prevent his being forced to attend mass. Foxe disapproved of the suicide, but added that if Hales was out of his wits when he killed himself, then he deserved pity. Foxe also maintained that Hales was not necessarily damned. Foxe claimed that not all suicides were consigned to hell, citing the examples of virgins who killed themselves rather than lose their chastity, including some female Christians praised for this by the great church historian Eusebius (Rerum, pp. 264-65). Foxe also added a poem which he wrote himself, praising Hales (Rerum, p. 265). In the first edition of the Acts and Monuments, all of this material was reprinted without change, except that two lines were added to the poem, expressing the hope that Hales's soul, no matter how blemished, might be cleansed and blessed through divine mercy. In 1566, Nicholas Harpsfield, Foxe's most important contemporary critic, attacked Foxe's account of Hales. Harpsfield criticized Foxe for praising Hales as a martyr. In particular, Harpsfield criticized Foxe for maintaining that Hales might not be damned and for comparing Hales with early Christian martyrs who killed themselves rather than be forced to surrender their chastity and worship idols (DS, pp. 748-49). In his second edition, Foxe responded by eliminating the discussion of Hales's background and virtues from his narrative on the judge. He replaced this with a denunciation of the illegality of the arrest of Hales and of other allegedly illegal catholic persecutions of protestants. The interview between Hales and Gardiner was reprinted without change. But the long discussion of Hales's cruel treatment in prison is replaced by a terse declaration that 'it is thought' that Day and Portman subjected Hales to pressure. (Foxe may have been under some pressure himself about his accusations of Portman and Forster; the latter is not mentioned in this edition). The description of Hales's attempted suicide is repeated, as is Gardiner's denunciation of protestantism. Foxe also repeats his claim that Hales deserved pity if he was out of his wits and his citation of suicides by early Christians. However, Foxe added a sentence to this edition refusing to excuse 'the hainous fact' of Hales's suicide. Foxe also changed the last four lines of his poem praising Hales; the new lines are more guarded about the fate of Hales's soul, praying that on the Day of Judgement, when no one will be without sin, Hales's sins will not weigh too heavily against him. In his second edition, Foxe was concerned to arrange events in chronological order and the account of Hales was moved accordingly. The account of Hales in the second edition of the Acts and Monuments was repeated without change in the third and fourth editions.

    Sir James Hales K.B. married secondly Margaret Wood. She was the widow of William Mantell.

    His will was proved on 7 May 1590 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Will of Sir James Hales 07 May 1590.

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