 He was admitted to Gray's Inn on 28 October 1584 and succeeded his father in the estate at East Peckham in November 1603.He was appointed a Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber to James I of England and knighted at Charterhouse on 11 May 1603.In 1593, he was elected Member of Parliament for Clitheroe, in 1601 MP for Helston and in 1606 MP for Thetford.