[1] He was admitted a fellow-commoner of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1660,[2] and was considered for the proposed Knights of the Royal Oak at the Restoration, his income being estimated at £1,000 per year.
William Montagu, member for Stamford was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer, vacating his seat and necessitating a by-election.
However, Noel's father Lord Campden and the Earl of Lindsey, supporters of the court party, lavishly treated the residents of Stamford and their friends, dismaying Hatcher, who could not match their expenditures and arranged to be appointed High Sheriff of Lincolnshire to escape from the contest.
[a] Exeter switched his interest to a new candidate, William Thursby, who looked to have no better success; Hatcher put himself back into the race, hoping to delay the election long enough to obtain some advantage, but in vain.
Noel was returned for Stamford on 27 February 1677, and Hatcher's petition against the result was disqualified due to his ineligibility as the Sheriff of the county.