He was the eldest son of Claudius Amyand, a distinguished surgeon and Huguenot, born on 10 August 1718.
Educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, he attended Lincoln's Inn and was called to the bar in 1742.
[2] He was appointed junior under secretary to the Duke of Newcastle in 1750, becoming senior under-secretary to the Earl of Holderness the following year.
[3] He retained his office under Thomas Robinson and Henry Fox until William Pitt removed him to the Board of Customs in 1756.
He served on that board until 1765 when he became Receiver of the Land Tax for Middlesex and London, a post he held until his death.