Edward Harley (7 June 1664 – 30 August 1735) was a British

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He sat as

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 twenty seven years supporting the group led by his brother, Robert Harley. He was also

Auditor of the Imprests Auditor of the Imprests was a profitable office of the Exchequer, responsible for auditing the accounts of officers of the English crown to whom money was issued for government expenditure, from 1559 to 1785. Foundation Prior to 1559 this duty was ...

. Because of this, and to distinguish him from other family members of the same name, is frequently known as Auditor Harley.

Career

He was second son of Edward Harley of

Brampton Bryan Brampton Bryan is a small village and civil parish situated in north Herefordshire, England close to the Shropshire and Welsh borders. Brampton Bryan lies midway between Leintwardine and Knighton on the A4113 road. The nearest station is Buc ...

, Herefordshire and the younger brother of

Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, KG PC FRS (5 December 1661 – 21 May 1724) was an English statesman and peer of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tory ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

(1681), where he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1688. He represented

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 ...

in Parliament from 1695 to 1698, after which he was a member for

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

, almost continuously until 1722. He was appointed Recorder of Leominster for 1692-1732 and joint Auditor of the Imprests for life in 1702. He was a solid supporter of his brother's government from 1710 to 1714. He strongly opposed the 1715 measure in the Commons to have Harley impeached, but this was unsuccessful and his brother was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

for two years. He purchased the Eywood estate at Titley, Herefordshire and there around 1705 built a new house, which was demolished in 1958.

Family

He married Sarah Foley, third daughter of Thomas Foley. Their eldest son (

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 ...

) succeeded as 3rd Earl of Oxford on the death of his brother Robert's son

, the 2nd earl, without male issue. Their second son Robert died in infancy, after which came a daughter named Abigail and finally another son Robert Harley,

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

and twice Member of Parliament for that town.

Sources

thepeerage.com
* *''Burke's Peerage'' (1851 edition). * Sarah Harley funerary monument, Brampton Bryan church, Herefordshire.

Bibliography

* Rogers, Pat. ''The Life and Times of Thomas, Lord Coningsby: The Whig Hangman and his Victims''. A&C Black, 2011. , - 1664 births 1735 deaths People from Herefordshire

People educated at Westminster School, London Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub