Sulyard was the eldest son of John Sulyard of Wetherden and Margaret Baker, daughter of Robert Baker of Wetherden and was educated at Clifford’s Inn. He married three times, firstly to Elizabeth Bedingfield, daughter of Sir Edmund Bedingfield of Oxborough, Norfolk, by whom he had one daughter.
Sulyard was a Roman Catholic lawyer He was the Justice of the Peace in Suffolk in 1554-1561 and was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk for 1555-1556. He was a standard bearer and gentleman pensioner from late 1553 to late 1558 and commissioner of the sewers for Norfolk and Suffolk in 1566.
He was knighted in March 1557/January 1558.
Sulyard was elected a Member of Parliament for Ipswich in October 1553 and 1555, for Bodmin in April 1554, for Preston in November 1554 and for Chippenham in 1558.
