The son of Edward Nevill (1664-1701), a Captain in the Royal Navy who died aboard ship off the coast of Virginia, and his wife Hannah (1668-1764), daughter of Gervase Thorpe of Brockhurst, he succeeded to the barony on the death of his cousin Edward Nevill, 15th Baron Bergavenny, who had died without children.
Their elder son was George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny. Leaving the family"s old house at Birling, Kent, he moved to Kidbrooke Park at Forest Row, where he built a mansion in 1733-1734, purchasing surrounding farmland to lay out new grounds and a park. Altered since then, house and gardens in 2015 were the site of Michael Hall School).
In 1739 he obtained the position of Master of the Jewel Office, a post he held up to his death.
He died in Bath on 21 September 1744 and was buried at East Grinstead on 30 September 1744, with administration of his estate granted on 20 November 1744.
