Edward Foley (1676 – 4 April 1747) was an English Tory politician who sat in the

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and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

between 1701 and 1741.

Early life

Foley was baptized on 23 September 1676, the second son of Thomas Foley of Whitley Court, Worcestershire, and his wife Elizabeth Ashe, daughter of Edward Ashe, MP. He began in business as a casual participant in commercial enterprises but his gambling became a concern to his family. In 1704 he was said to have lost £1,000 in a gambling party at Tunbridge Wells, but it appears subsequently that it was brought under control.

Career

Foley was returned unopposed as Tory

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. The ...

at the second general election of 1701. On 26 February 1702, he voted in vindication of the impeachment proceedings against four Whig lords. He was returned at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

, but with other family members in the House of Commons, his activities could not be distinguished. He was an assistant at the

Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English mercantile (trade, trading) company set up in 1660 by the royal House of Stuart, Stuart family and City of London merchants to trade along the West Africa, west coast of Africa. It was led by the J ...

from 1704 to 1705. He was returned unopposed again at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

and at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

. He voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. After he was returned unopposed as MP at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

, he was listed among the ‘worthy patriots’ who exposed the mismanagements of the old ministry, and the ‘Tory patriots’ who supported the new administration's peace policy. He was also a member of the

October Club The October Club was a group of Tory Members of Parliament, established after the 1710 general election. The Club was active until approximately 1714. The group took its name from the strong ale they reportedly drank.Pat Rogers, �October Club (' ...

. He became a Commissioner for taking subscriptions to the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

in 1711. In June 1711 he was nominated by Robert Harley to the office of Receiver general of leather duty at a salary of £350 p.a. whereupon, he gave up his parliamentary seat to his younger brother,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

. He lost the post in 1714 on the accession of George I. Foley decided to take up the law and was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1717. He was never called to the bar, but maintained chambers at Lincoln's Inn. Foley succeeded to the property of his brother Richard on his death in 1731 and replaced him as MP for Droitwich at a by-election on 15 April 1732. He was returned again at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

. After voting consistently with the Opposition, he gave up his seat at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

Death and legacy

Foley died unmarried on 4 April 1747 from an infection in his foot. His estate passed to his nephew, the 2nd Lord Foley.

References

* * ''Burkes Peerage'' 1676 births 1747 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Droitwich Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Droitwich British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

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