John Hill

Who was John Hill?

John Hill was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1628 to 1629.

Hill was the son of Roger Hill of Poundisford and his wife Mary Hassard of Lyme Regis. He became an ironmonger. With Dennis Bond he was made a constable of Dorchester in 1618. On 11 September 1621 he was appointed the first Governor of the Company of Freemen. Later he replaced John Yeate as an Alderman of Dorchester and a week later was appointed a Capital Burgesse. He was an enthusiastic supporter of John White's schemes to create a godly community. In 1624 he invested in the Dorchester Company and was a member of a circle known as the New England Parliament which met in the'Free School in Dorchester. In October 1624 he was elected as Bailiff.

In 1628, Hill was elected Member of Parliament for Dorchester and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In 1631 he was elected steward of the Seaton Parsonage where he was responsible for holding funds and for collecting tithes. He was elected treasurer of the county at the Quarter Sessions in Sherborne on 30 April 1633. In 1636 he was elected Mayor of Dorchester.