Norton was the eldest son of Thomas Norton of
Grantley, Yorkshire. He was educated at
St John's College, Cambridge and the Middle Temple, being
called to the bar in 1739. After a period of inactivity, he built up a profitable practice, becoming a
King's Counsel in 1754, and later attorney-general for the county palatine of Lancaster. With his father he ordered the building in the mid-1700s of
Grantley Hall, near Ripon in North Yorkshire. In 1756, Norton was elected
Member of Parliament for
Appleby; he represented
Wigan from 1761 to 1768, and was appointed solicitor-general for England and
knighted in 1762. He took part in the proceedings against
John Wilkes, and, having become
Attorney General for England and Wales in 1763, prosecuted
William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, for the murder of
William Chaworth. However, he lost his office when
the Marquess of Rockingham came to power in July 1765. In 1769, as MP for
Guildford, Norton became a privy councillor and chief
Justice in Eyre of the forests south of the Trent, and in 1770 was elected
Speaker of the House of Commons. In 1777, when presenting the bill for the increase of the civil list to the king, he told
George III that "parliament has not only granted to your majesty a large present supply, but also a very great additional revenue; great beyond example; great beyond your majesty's highest expense." This speech aroused general attention and caused some irritation; but the Speaker was supported by
Charles James Fox and by the city of London, and received the thanks of the House of Commons. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society in 1776. ==Death==