At 22 he was awarded the William Henry Allen scholarship of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first class honours degree.

[3] In 1946, Hinton was appointed Deputy Controller of Production, Atomic Energy, and in 1954 when the Atomic Energy Authority was formed, was appointed Member for Engineering and Production as managing director of 'Industrial Group Risley'[3] which comprised the Risley headquarters and laboratories at Culcheth, Capenhurst, Windscale, Springfields and Dounreay plus factories at Springfields, Capenhurst, Windscale, Calder, Dounreay and Chapelcross.

[citation needed] Hinton's department was responsible for the design and construction of most of Britain's major nuclear plants, including Windscale, Capenhurst, Springfields and Dounreay.

[3] He was created Baron Hinton of Bankside, of Dulwich in the County of London, a life peer, on 28 January 1965, and served as Chancellor of the University of Bath 1966 – 1979.

Similar 660 MW turbogenerators were also installed at all of Britain's AGR nuclear power stations, albeit with radically different steam-raising plant.

During his time at the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) he commissioned the Hinton Cup, a piece of silverware that would be presented annually to the power station that displayed good housekeeping in the workplace.