Rev John Maule (1771–1866) was vicar of St Mary's Church, Dover, 1817–42. The Maule family, descended from the prominent Scottish Maule family of earls and barons of Panmure, had strong connections with Greenwich, Kent. It appears that both his father (Stephen John Maule) and grandfather (John Maule) held the post of Clerk of the Cheque at Greenwich Hospital, whilst another relative (also a Rev John Maule) was Chaplain at the hospital.
John Maule (1771–1866) was educated at Queen's College then Merton College, Oxford, during the period 1788 to 1800. From 1817 to 1842 he was vicar at St Mary's, Dover, and it seems he was well established in the life of the city.
His watercolours can be found in the collections of Dover Museum and Leicester University. An oil painting of Maule by William Richard Waters (1813–1880) is in the Dover Collections.