He was baptised 7 April 1562, the first son and heir of Sir Robert Bell and Dorothie daughter of Edmonde Beaupre, Of Outwell/Upwell, Norfolk, and Catherine Bedingfield.
It is likely that by age fifteen, Edmonde had been partially prepared and fashioned for a career in his family's profession, when he suffered the loss of his father from the terminal effects of what was then called "Jail Fever".
Peyton, appears to have developed a closer relationship with Edmond's younger brother Robert,... who was groomed as a soldier and later become a captain of a company in the low countries.
By 1583, it is known that he received his patrimony, which included extensive properties throughout Norfolk, and the manor of Castle Acre, where Edmonde dwelled and duly made his family seat.
By 1586, he became MP for Aldeburgh, where he was active in mercantile affairs, "investing heavily in privatering", specifically, the building of ships (gunboats) that incorporated advances in Naval Architecture.