 He was born at Riby Grove in Lincolnshire, and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge.On 19 November 1812 Tomline was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.He was MP for Christchurch from 1812 to 1818, Truro from 1818 to 1820 and 1826 to 1829, and Minehead from 1830 to 1831.