 He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Greenwich a by-election in August 1873, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1895 general election.Apart from his political career he was a Captain the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, a Justice of the Peace and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.On 18 February 1896 he was created a baronet, of Wakehurst Place in the County of Sussex.