 He was Member of Parliament for St Mawes 1753–1754, and for Shaftesbury 1754–60 (where he paid £2000 to secure the seat).He resigned his seat at Shaftesbury in December 1760 to fight a by-election for County Durham; he lost that election and the general election of 1761, but was elected for the constituency at the third attempt in 1768 and continued to represent it until 1790.Prior to his succession he lived at Greencroft Hall, Greencroft, Durham, a spacious mansion built by his grandfather James Clavering (1647–1721) in the late 17th century.