[1] In 1661, Paston was elected MP for Castle Rising and sat until 1673, when he had to relinquish his seat on being raised to the peerage as Viscount Yarmouth.

He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk on 6 March 1676, retaining the office until his death.

With another Fellow, Thomas Henshaw, he attempted to discover a formula for the fabled "red elixir", another name for the philosopher's stone which alchemists believed could transmute base metals into gold.

[2] In a letter to Sir Thomas Browne he informed the Norwich physician-philosopher of his alchemical experiments - Paston lived at Richmond.

[citation needed] Their son, William, married Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, an illegitimate daughter of Charles II.