Paul Foley (c.1688Will of his father Paul Foley refers to 1 January 1709 as shortly after he would be of age. – 28 November 1739), Newport, Herefordshire, was an English barrister and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1713 to 1715. Foley was the second son of Paul Foley, who was

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from 1695 to 1698. He was admitted at

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at the age of 5 in 1693 but eventually was admitted to

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 1706 and called to the bar in 1708. He married Susannah Massingberd, daughter of Sir William Massingberd, 2nd Baronet, of Bratoft Hall, Gunby, Lincolnshire. Foley's father had died in 1699 and his parliamentary colleague Robert Harley took an interest in the Foley family, as he'd married his cousin Elizabeth Foley in 1685. He was instrumental in arranging with the Duchess of Newcastle for Foley to stand at Aldborough at the 1713 general election. Foley was returned as

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in an expensive contest. His only identified contribution in Parliament was a speech regarding the expulsion of

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in Du ...

. Circumstances changed at Aldborough, and at the general election in 1715, he found another seat at

Weobley Weobley ( ) is an ancient settlement and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. Formerly a market town, the market is long defunct and the settlement is today promoted as one of the county's black and white villages owing to its abundance of ...

. He was elected MP in the poll, but his election was overturned on petition on 18 June 1715. He contested a by-election at Weobley in 1732, but without success. Foley married as his second wife by licence dated 13 December 1722, Susannah Hoare, daughter of

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, banker, of Fleet Street, London and Stourton Castle, Wiltshire. The marriage into a prosperous banking family combined with a successful legal practice made him rich. He died on 28 November 1739 without issue by either wife. Administration of the estate was granted to his great-nephew Thomas Foley.

References

*Robert Beatson, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807

1688 births 1739 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from Herefordshire

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British MPs 1713–1715 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub