John Hales (by 1470 – 1540), of The Dungeon in the parish of St. Mary Bredin,[1] Canterbury, Kent, was an administrator, politician and judge[2][3][4] who was appointed a Baron of the Exchequer in 1522.

In 1503 he was made a justice of the peace for Kent, and in 1504 was appointed counsel to the corporation of Rye,[3] and was also elected bailiff of his home town of Tenterden.

From 1508, he was appointed to various royal commissions in his native Kent, in Middlesex and Sussex, and across the Channel in the English possessions of Calais and Guînes.

[4] His further advancement was probably the result of patronage by Sir Henry Guildford, the Comptroller of the Household,[3] In 1519 he was appointed Attorney-General to the Duchy of Lancaster,[3] in about 1520 steward of St Augustine's Abbey,[4] and in 1521 general surveyor of Crown lands.

[3][4] He retired from his judicial position in November 1539 and made his will on 20 July 1540, asking to be buried beside his wife in his parish church of St Mary Bredin at Canterbury.