John Hawley
Encyclopedia
John Hawley (c.1340 or 1350–30 Dec 1408) was Mayor of Dartmouth and MP for Dartmouth
Dartmouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Dartmouth, also at some times called Clifton, Dartmouth and Hardness, was a parliamentary borough in Devon which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in 1298 and to the Commons of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom from 1351 until 1832, and then one member from...

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He was the son of John Hawley of Dartmouth. His family reportedly came from the hamlet of Allaleigh
Allaleigh
Allaleigh is a village in Devon, England....

 and this may account for the origins of his name.

He was Mayor of Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...

 on fourteen occasions between 1374 and 1401 and elected MP for Dartmouth in 1390, 1393, 1394 and 1402 .

Hawley was both a merchant and licensed privateer though he was often accused of piracy.. He conducted a number of naval operations in the English Channel and briefly held the post of deputy to the Admiral of England under Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...

. He organised the defence of Dartmouth in 1404 against an attack by a Breton fleet, which culminated in the battle of Blackpool Sands
Battle of Blackpool Sands
The Battle of Blackpool Sands was the result of an attempted French raid on Dartmouth in April or May 1404. Local forces defeated the raiders, taking a number of prisoners and killing the French commander, William du Chastel.-Background:...

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He died in Dec 1408 and was buried in a tomb in St Saviour's Church, Dartmouth. He is reputed to be one of the models for Chaucer's "schipman" . He had married twice:firstly Joan (died 12 July 1394) and secondly Alice (d. 7 Jan. 1403) with whom he had a son, John.
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