Burton traded as an ironmonger. As a bailiff of Nottingham, on 21 Oct. 1411, he sealed the borough parliamentary election indenture. In September 1413 and again a year later he was distrained for jury service, although not empanelled, at the inquiries before the royal commissioners into riots in the town and other crimes committed there.
By then Burton had struck up a friendship with
Hugh Willoughby
† of Wollaton, for whom he attested a conveyance in January 1414. Shortly after, he enfeoffed Willoughby of his property in Lorimers Street, Nottingham; and in 1419 they purchased together a tenement on High Pavement, of which, now as ‘of Lowdham’, Burton still had possession in 1435. At an uknown date between 1417 and 1424 Burton, Willoughby and Simon Leek, esquire alleged in Chancery that they had been forcibly disseised of lands at Gelding by William Jorce of Stoke Bardolf and our Member’s namesake William Burton of Burton Joyce. Another acquaintance of note was William Babington of Chilwell, c.j.c.p., who acted as a feoffee of Burton’s from 1423 onwards.
Burton died before April 1447, when his son Richard conveyed to trustees, including
Sir William Plumpton
†, rents from buildings on Hollow Stone, Nottingham (acquired by William 30 years earlier), and received from Sir Hugh Willoughby 40 marks for property in Nottingham, Lenton, Radford and Bradmore recently made over to Willoughby’s use.