A gambler, Edgcumbe's financial situation was usually precarious at best; he would lose 20 guineas a day at White's Club. The situation became so bad that a friend secured him a secret service pension of £500 a year. He wrote poetry, but only two pieces are extant. The DNB characterizes them as "of little merit," but they earned Edgcumbe a place in Walpole's Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors. Edgcumbe was the recepient of a dedication from Muntz for the former's services to the arts.