John Hawks

Background

John Hawks was born in 1731 at Dragby, Lincolnshire, England.

Career

Nothing definite is known of John Hawks' early career; that he was a man of consequence and probably held some position at Court seems apparent from the fact that he was selected to design and superintend the construction of the mansion of the colonial governor of North Carolina at New Bern. In this project both King George III and Queen Charlotte were interested. The Queen, who had built “Stratford” in Virginia for Thomas Lee out of her private purse, seemed eager to develop a domestic architecture in the American dominions. John Hawks arrived in North Carolina in company with Governor Tryon in 1764. They were immediately confronted by the difficulty of raising funds for the architectural project, and for a time it seemed doubtful whether work on it could begin for some years. In 1767 Tryon recommended Hawks for the post of comptroller of the port of Beaufort, but he did not have occasion to accept that office, for in the same year the General Assembly appropriated £5, 000 for building the palace.

The corner-stone was laid August 26, 1767, and the building was completed late in 1770. During January and February of the next year the government records were moved into it. The edifice was a three-storied structure, built in the best traditions of the early Georgian style; with quarter-circle colonnades connecting it with two small square Georgian buildings placed at either side. The central portion bore unmistakable signs of having been fashioned after the favorite residence of the King and Queen, Kew Palace at Kew Gardens, Surrey, in the rebuilding of which, not many years before, Hawks may well have had a hand. The interior of the North Carolina mansion was elaborately designed and furnished. The entire cost amounted to nearly fifteen thousand pounds. This sum, after much difficulty and trouble which paved the way for much of the subsequent civil commotion in the colony, was finally appropriated by the General Assembly. For his services in making the designs of the palace and overseeing its erection, John Hawks received £300 “proclamation money” yearly.

Hawks built other structures in New Bern, including the Craven County prison of which he was one of the trustees. From 1770 to 1773 he was a kind of commissioner of finance for Governor Tryon. In the latter year he was chosen clerk of the upper house of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of Governor Martin, which office he retained until it became extinct in 1784. During this time he was also a justice of the peace for Craven County and district auditor for New Bern. In 1784 he became the first auditor of the state of North Carolina, continuing in that position until the time of his death. In December 1788 he was appointed judge of the court mercantile and maritime for New Bern by Gov. Samuel Johnston, but resigned the office, for which he had not applied, because he thought himself unqualified “for the undertaking. ” He died at New Bern, February 16, 1790.

Achievements

• John Hawks is remembered as the dominant force in North Carolinian architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Bern's most notable structures, including Tryon's mansion.

Connections

About the year 1770 Hawks married Mary Fisher, the only daughter of George Fisher of Craven County. They had one son, Francis, who was the father of Francis Lister Hawks.

Spouse:

Mary (Fisher) Hawks

Son:

Francis Hawks