On the death of his elder brother, Richard, the de jure 17th baron in 1722, Hylton inherited the "barony".
As no Barons Hylton had been called to Parliament since the second baron in the 14th century, Hylton wasn't a peer and went by the simple name of John Hilton, Esq.
He could therefore legally take a seat in the House of Commons and did so in 1727, when he became member of parliament for Carlisle.
He never married and as he died without male heirs, the right to the ancient barony became abeyant upon his death.
He was buried in St Catherine's Chapel, in the grounds of his ancestral home, Hylton Castle.