He took part in several duels, as both principal and second, including one in 1667 between George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and his relative, Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, which ended in the latter's death.

[citation needed] In the First English Civil War, his father played a prominent role in raising Wiltshire for Charles I, and garrisoned Lacock Abbey until its capture in September 1645.

[3] He was imprisoned for a year, and eventually released after paying a fine of £2,000; John's uncle, Sir Gilbert, was arrested in 1650 on suspicion of conspiring to restore Charles II, and went into exile.

[4] In August 1659, Talbot was briefly arrested for alleged complicity in Booth's Rising, a Royalist rebellion easily crushed by John Lambert.

[9] When the Third Anglo-Dutch War began in March 1672, Talbot was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Barbados Dragoons, which was disbanded after the Treaty of Westminster in February 1674.

[12] Described by the French ambassador as 'very Protestant, and very Royalist', he summarised the dilemma of many, who supported James' right to the throne, but opposed concessions to Catholicism in general.

[8] James succeeded as monarch in February 1685, and in March, Talbot was elected for Devizes in the Loyal Parliament, so-called for the large majority who backed his right to the throne.

[8] This ended his military career; in 1690, he refused to swear allegiance to Mary II and William III, which meant he was ineligible for any public offices.

He was buried in St Cyriac's Church, Lacock; his tomb was removed during 19th century renovation works, but parts of it were re-used for the 1914–1918 village war memorial.