He studied canon law at Oxford University, and by 1258 he was a qualified magister, a rarity for British justices of the time; of the sixty or so justices who had served under Richard I only three held such a title, with ninety and eight respectively for those who had served under John of England.
[1] By 1260 he was using his knowledge of Canon law as the commissary-general for Walter of Kirkham, the Bishop of Durham, as well as his immediate successor, Robert Stitchill, serving as one of his chancellors and also his executor.
[2] In 1268 he switched from an ecclesiastical career to a judicial one, and was appointed as a justice with the Court of Common Pleas.
From late 1272 until October 1274 he served as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire, and gave a speech at the 1275 Parliament explaining the king's need for money.
He appointed several executors to pay his debtors and distribute his estate, including Oliver Sutton and Nicholas of Higham.