He was appointed a justice of the peace for Devon in 1670, and in 1672, he succeeded his nephew Arthur as baronet and inherited an estate worth £2,000 per year. In 1673, he was appointed a commissioner for assessment in Devon, and unsuccessfully contested a by-election at Tiverton following the death of Sir Thomas Carew, 1st Baronet. He was appointed to the commission on recusants in 1675 and made a freeman of Exeter; in 1676, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the county.