 He was active in clerical work, took a leading part in the organisation of educational institutions in Bury St. Edmunds, and seems to have been the first to propose a system of university extension.In 1862 he was appointed archdeacon of Sudbury.On the resignation of Lord Auckland, Bishop of Bath and Wells, in 1869, he was offered the bishopric on the recommendation of William Ewart Gladstone, and was consecrated on 21 December.