In 1276 Marmion paid homage to the Abbot of Peterborough who granted him his father's lands. He was distrained for knighthood in 1278. Marmion served repeatedly in the Scottish War from 1291 to 1322. Marmion was summoned to the king's councils on 8 June 1294, 26 January 1297 and from 26 July 1313 to 14 March 1322 and as a Knight of the Shire for Lincolnshire to York on 25 May 1298. During the turbulence of 1314 that saw growing friction between Edward II, Piers Gaveston and Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and his large private army, Marmion became involved in trouble for reasons not immediately obvious. An arrest warrant was issued for both John and his son John Marmion who lead a group of dozens of men on a raid upon Fountains Abbey's land at Aldeburgh and Balderby, Yorkshire. Timber, two hundred sheep, fifty oxen and four carts were stolen and the abbot's servants suffered kidnapping, beatings, cuts and had their beards plucked out. The abbot and his monks may not have been entirely innocent having themselves been accused of violent assault in 1307 and of stealing deer in 1316. The dispute seems to have been overtaken by events and after the disastrous Battle of Bannockburn Marmion was summoned to defend the north against the rampant Scots. Forgiveness was forthcoming and on 24 September 1314 he was granted licence to crenellate his mansion "the Hermitage" in his wood at Tanfield. The king ordered Marmion to not go to the Earl of Lancaster's meeting of good peers on 29 November 1321. He was then ordered to bring his forces to Coventry on 28 February 1322 to march against the Earl's adherents. This culminated in the Battle of Boroughbridge on 16 March 1322. Marmion likely died at the battle, or shortly after, as on 7 May 1322 an inquisition post-mortem was held to assess his estates in Yorkshire which established that he owned West Tanfield, Wath, Langeton and Wirton manors and one knight's fee in Exelby. A second inquisition found he owned Quinton, Gloucestershire, Berwick and Wingeton in Sussex, Luddington and Castre in Northamptonshire and Willingham and Winteringham in Lincolnshire. In addition to his manors, Marmion also held four knight's fees at Wintringham and Wolingham, one at Keisby and a 1/4 at Trickingham and Stowe.
Family and descendants
Marmion married Isabella and had a son John Marmion, who died in 1335. Another son may have been Richard Marmion who was accused of cutting William Gentyl's right hand off at Gunthorpe, Lincolnshire in 1317.
