Born in the Soho area of Westminster as William Hughes Hewitt, he qualified as a solicitor and in 1814 became a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers.
His maternal grandfather died in 1825, and as principal beneficiary of his will, Hewitt became wealthy, inheriting around £85,000.
He then became associated with the new Conservative Party, in which interest he held his seat in 1835, but was again defeated in the 1837 UK general election.
[1] Hughes became master of the cordwainers, and in 1843 he was elected as an alderman in London again, this time for the Bread Street ward, serving for five years.
[2] He also served as a vice-president of the Royal Society of Arts, a magistrate in Hampshire, Middlesex and Westminster, and as a governor of Christ's Hospital.