He was born at King's Walden, Hertfordshire, the eighth son of William HaleMP and his wife Mary Elwes, daughter of Jeremy (Jeremiah) Elwes of Roxby, Lincolnshire. The Hale family, who made a fortune as grocers in London, had owned their estate in King's Walden since the sixteenth century,[2] and Bernard's own descendants were still living there in Victorian times.[3] Bernard's grand-uncle, also called Bernard Hale, was Archdeacon of Ely 1660–1663.
Bernard was educated at Eton College and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where his grand-uncle Bernard had been Master in the 1660s, matriculating at Peterhouse in 1695, graduating B.A. in 1699 and M.A. in 1702: he subsequently became a fellow of Peterhouse.[4] He entered Gray's Inn in 1699, and was called to the Bar in 1705. He became one of the leaders of the English Bar, and was one of its top earners. He later transferred to Lincoln's Inn, and was briefly one of its Benchers.[3]
Jane Hale (died 1794), who married Reverend Martin Madan (1726-1790), a clergyman noted for his controversial views on marriage, and in particular his book Thelyphthora, a defence of polygamy. They had five children; her portrait was painted by Allan Ramsay.
In 1722 he was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and earned a high reputation in Ireland for integrity and efficiency, despite an initially hostile reception, "the usual Dublin railing".[1] In 1725 he and the junior Baron, Sir John St Leger, narrowly escaped death when on assizeatMonaghan: the roof of Monaghan courthouse, which like many Irish courthouses of the time was in an appalling state of repair, fell in. It narrowly missed the judges, who however escaped injury. Hale adjourned proceedings to outside the building and continued the assize.[1]
Later the same year, it was rumoured that he was to be appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland.[1] In fact he was offered the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland: but his English colleagues advised him to refuse it, on the ground that he would shortly be offered a place on the English Bench. Hale admitted that the prospect of being Irish Lord Chief Justice was tempting enough to "perplex him", but his preference was to go back to England. Although he had been happy enough in Ireland, he admitted that "it is impossible for me to forget England or not to wish to return there".[3]