After a municipal career as a Mayor of Truro he was elected to Parliament along with Nicholas Randall.
[1] In 1554 Melhuish abandoned Parliament without a licence and evaded summons to the King's Bench.
[1] For three years in a row, 1555 to end of 1557, he was fined for contempt of court in absentia.
[1] Bankrupted, he fled his home town and sought protection from his creditors, which was granted by the Crown in 1558.
[1] He settled near Buckfastleigh in Devon, styled himself "late of Truro" and retired from politics.