 Lord Weymouth, who had been one of his private pupils, gave him in 1760 the benefice of Frome, Somerset, and he retained it until his death; he further received in March 1769 the twelfth canonry in Durham Cathedral.He was consecrated on 25 January 1778 as bishop of Exeter, and held with the bishopric, as was the case with many successive occupants of the see, the archdeaconry of Exeter, a prebendal stall in the cathedral, and the rectory of Shobrooke in Devon.He retained the vicarage of Frome, but resigned the canonry at Durham.