William Hawes (1805–1885)

William Hawes (1805–1885) was an English businessman, banker and reformer, noted for efforts to improve the workings of the Poor Laws, bankruptcy law and excise.

He was the grandson of William Hawes M.D., and the brother of Benjamin Hawes; his parents were Benjamin Hawes (1770–1861), in business as a soap-boiler and a philanthropist, and Ann Feltham, sister of John Feltham. In 1827 he climbed Mont Blanc with Charles Fellows (address given as 26 Russell Square). With guides, they opened up what became known as the "Corridor Route" to the summit; the way via the Corridor and Mur de la Côte was standard for the next 30 years. An account of the ascent was published in 1828, edited by Benjamin Hawes, the younger.

Initially Hawes was in the family soap-boiling business. A friend of Isambard Kingdom Brunel from youth, he joined the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1829, and was then described as a soap manufacturer. He married in 1833, as was recorded in Brunel's diary, to Anna Cartwright, daughter of Samuel Cartwright. He became chairman of the London and County Bank, retiring in 1847–8. The Hawes Soap Factory in New Cross, south London, was closed down in 1849, a move attributed by the family to the excise duty on soap, against which they had campaigned.

Hawes was involved in a number of learned and other societies. He was a Fellow of the Geological Society, from 1831 (address 17 Montagu Place, Russell Square); and the same year is listed (at St. John's Lambeth) as Fellow of the Zoological Society, and member of the Royal Institution. In 1848 he was borrowing a Royal Institution battery from Michael Faraday. He was a Fellow of the Statistical Society.

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