Denton was baptized on 25 October 1676, the eldest son of Alexander Denton (1654–1698), MP for Buckingham, 1690–1698, and his wife, Esther (or Hester) Herman, daughter of Nicholas Herman of Middleton Stony.
He was a member of a Cumberland family which had been granted the manor of Hillesdon by King Edward IV.
[1] He matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford in 1695, and was admitted at Middle Temple in 1697.
Denton was returned as Member of Parliament for Buckingham at the 1698 English general election.
[4] He continued to represent Buckingham until the 1708 British general election, when he was returned as MP for Buckinghamshire, a seat he held until 1713.