| John Hales | |
| Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield | |
| Religion: | Catholic |
| Appointed: | 20 September 1459 |
| Term End: | between 15 September and 30 September 1490 |
| Predecessor: | Reginald Boulers |
| Successor: | William Smyth |
| Consecration: | 25 November 1459 |
| Death Date: | September 1490 |
| Honorific Prefix: | The Right Reverend |
John Hales (c. 1400-1490)[1] (alias Hals, Halse, etc.) was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield (1459-1490). He was one of the Worthies of Devon of the biographer John Prince (d.1723).[2]
Hales was the second son of John Hals (fl.1423) of Kenedon in the parish of Sherford, Devon (a Justice of the Common Pleas and in 1423 a Justice of the King's Bench) by his first wife, a daughter of the Mewye (alias Mewy[3]) family of Whitchurch near Tavistock, Devon. [4] His great-uncle was Richard Hals (d.1418), a Canon of Exeter Cathedral in Devon, and Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral in 1400, who in 1414 was sent as Ambassador to Brittany.[5] Bishop Hals appointed his kinsman Edmund Hals as Archdeacon of Salop from an unknown date until 1485 and as Archdeacon of Derby from 1485, probably until his death.[6] The mansion house of the Hals' at Kenedon, originally quadrangular in form, is today represented by a small 16th c. farmhouse known as Keynedon, about 1 mile south of the village of Sherford.[7] The early 15th century gate-tower of the house was demolished in about 1850.[8]
Hales was Provost of Oriel College, Oxford, from 1446 to 1449.[9] He was Dean of Exeter between 1457 and 1459.[10] In 1470, during the reign of King Henry VI, Hales was appointed Keeper of the Privy Seal, but lost the office on the restoration of King Edward IV in 1471.[11] Hales was nominated as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield on 20 September 1459, and was consecrated on 25 November 1459. He died between 15 and 30 September 1490,[12] aged about 90,[13] and was buried in Lichfield Cathedral.[14]