He began his apprenticeship as a merchant overseas, and returned to England in 1680 to set himself up as a City trader.

[4] At a meeting of this company, held in London about 1698, Peter the Great was present, and was addressed by Heathcote 'in high Dutch' with reference to the importation of tobacco into his dominions.

He was returned as Member of Parliament for City of London at the first general election of 1701 but was expelled on 20 March 1701 for his share in the circulation of some exchequer bills.

[4] Heathcote became an alderman for Walbrook on 30 June 1702,[3] and was returned again as MP for London at the 1702 English general election.

[4] From 1707 to 1710, he was a Colonel of the Blue Regiment of the city Militia, and was treasurer of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) from 1708 to 1711.

He was unpopular and for this reason his Lord Mayor's procession to Westminster on 30 October was cut short, and the livery companies attended him by water in their barges.

[7] He was vice-president of the HAC from 1711 to 1720 and resumed his command of the Blue Regiment in 1714 remaining as colonel for the rest of his life.

He was appointed a commissioner for the colony of Georgia in October 1732, and obtained much support for the proposal from his fellow-directors of the Bank of England.

[1] Although extremely rich, Heathcote's meanness is referred to by Pope; and it was this trait that accounts largely for his unpopularity with the populace.

[2] He died in London on 25 January 1733 and was buried at St Matthew's Church, Normanton, Rutland.

A monument by the Flemish sculptor Rysbrack is now in St Mary's Church, Edith Weston.

Heathcote held shares in the South Sea Company (SSC), a British joint-stock company which was granted the Asiento de Negros by the Spanish Empire, which allowed the SSC to export slaves to Spain's American colonies as part of the Atlantic slave trade.