John Hawks (architect)

John Hawks
Bornc. 1731 (1731)
Died (aged about 59)
OccupationArchitect
Spouse
Sarah Rice
(m. 1768)
Children2
BuildingsTryon Palace

John Hawks (c. 1731 – October 31, 1790) was an English-American architect active in the Province of North Carolina during the late colonial period. Born in Shipston-on-Stour, he worked under the Palladian architect Stiff Leadbetter. He accompanied William Tryon, the expectant governor of the Province of North Carolina, to New Bern in 1764. He was commissioned by Tryon to design and build Tryon Palace, a governor's mansion and assembly hall built from 1767 to 1770. He designed the St. Matthews Anglican Church in Hillsborough in 1768–1769, and drafted unbuilt designs for a church cupola and jail in Chowan County.

A number of other regional colonial buildings such as the Chowan County Courthouse, John Wright Stanly House, Coor-Bishop House, and Coor-Gaston House may have also been designed by Hawks, but no firm documentation exists. He served in various local government posts, including as the town commissioner of New Bern. During the American Revolution, he supported the Patriots. He served on the North Carolina Council of State from 1784 to 1786.