He was educated at Winchester School and New College, Oxford and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in 1772, being called to the bar in 1778.
[1] Bathurst sat as a member of parliament (MP) for Monmouth from 1790 to 1796, for Bristol from 1796 to 1812, for Bodmin from 1812 to 1818 and for Harwich from 1818 to 1823.
He was invested a member of the Privy Council in 1801 and held office under Henry Addington as Treasurer of the Navy from 1801 to 1803 and as Secretary at War from 1803 to 1804.
He also served under the Duke of Portland as Master of the Mint (1806–07) and under Lord Liverpool as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1812–23) and President of the Board of Control (1821–22).
In 1796 Bathurst was made an honorary freeman of the Society of Merchant Venturers, due to his support for the slave trade.