 He is described in contemporaneous documents as a "capper".He invested much of his wealth in real estate released on the Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes in partnership with Richard Duke (c. 1515-1572), of Otterton, Devon, Clerk of the Court of Augmentations.He was thrice Mayor of Gloucester (1535–36, 1543–44 and 1553–54) and served four times as Member of Parliament (MP) for the city (1545–47, 1547–52, 1553 and 1554–55).