He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayrshire from 1807 to 1811 and served as Solicitor General for Scotland during that period.

In 1811 he was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, with the judicial title Lord Boyle.

[3] In 1833 his address was listed as 28 Charlotte Square at the west end of Edinburgh's New Town.

[2] Their children included George David Boyle, who became Dean of Salisbury.

[1] His daughter, Helen, married Charles Dalrymple Fergusson, Baronet of Kilkerran.