Barker was the son of Abel Barker and Elizabeth Wright. In 1637 he inherited the manor of
Hambleton,
Rutland, from his father and he prospered as a large-scale sheep-farmer; he rented land from
Edward Harington and
James Harington. During the
English Civil War, Barker supported
Parliament and he served on the Rutland county committee. In 1646 he was appointed
High Sheriff of Rutland and he served as a
justice of the peace for the county between 1647 and 1653. In 1656, he was elected as a
Member of Parliament for
Rutland in the
Second Protectorate Parliament, representing the seat until 1658. In 1659 he served as commissioner for militia in Rutland. In 1679, he was again returned as the member for Rutland, but died before the
Second Exclusion Parliament convened. ==References==