Torrington was the son of Vice-Admiral George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington, and succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1831 at the age of eighteen. In 1847 he was appointed Governor of Ceylon, a post he held until 1850. He later served as a Permanent Lord-in-Waiting to the Prince Consort from 1853 to 1859 and to Queen Victoria from 1859 to 1884.
Lord Torrington died in April 1884, aged 71. He was succeeded in the viscountcy by his nephew, George.