 He was appointed Sheriff of Northumberland from 1155 to 1170 and then Sheriff of Lancashire from 1166 to 1170.In 1174, he joined other knights such as Bernard de Balliol and Robert III de Stuteville under the command of Ranulf de Glanville, Sheriff of Westmorland to attack an invading Scottish army then besieging Alnwick castle in Northumberland.The Scottish king William I of Scotland (William the Lion) was captured and the invasion successfully repelled.