Francis Palmes was the son and heir of Sir Francis Palmes of Lindley and Margaret, the daughter of Roger Corbet of Moreton Corbet Castle, Shropshire, who he succeeded in 1560.
Additionally, in 1599, he was appointed as a member of the high commission for the province of York, and from 1600 to 1601, he served as Sheriff of Hampshire.
[1] In 1601, while serving as sheriff, Palmes had the honour of receiving the Queen at Silchester and escorting her to Basingstoke, where she bestowed knighthood upon him.
[2] Francis Palmes entertained courtiers at his house nearby at Lancelevy in Sherfield on Loddon.
The party included Lady Anne Clifford, her mother Margaret Clifford, Countess of Cumberland and Elizabeth Bourchier, Countess of Bath, who used Lancelevy as a base to visit Anne of Denmark and Arbella Stuart.