Thomas Foley (c. 1641 — 1 February 1701) was the eldest son of the ironmaster Thomas Foley. He succeeded his father to the

Great Witley Great Witley is a village and civil parish (with Hillhampton), in the Malvern Hills District in the northwest of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated around ten miles to the north west of the city of Worcester. History There ha ...

estate, including

Witley Court Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire, England is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the architect ...

, in 1677. He was educated at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, being admitted in 1657 aged 16, graduating

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

1660, and was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1657.

He was appointed

High Sheriff of Worcestershire This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of th ...

for 1673–74. He served as a member of Parliament for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

from 1679 to 1685; again from 1689 to 1698 and then in 1699 and 1701 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 ...

. He was an active member. Like several members of his family, he was concerned in the iron industry, but only at

Tintern Tintern ( cy, Tyndyrn) is a village in the community (Wales), community of Wye Valley (community), Wye Valley, on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about north of Chepstow. It is popular w ...

. He married Elizabeth Ashe, daughter of Edward Ashe of Heytesbury, Wiltshire; they had four sons and four daughters: * Thomas Foley (1673–1733), who was created

Baron Foley Baron Foley is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, both times for members of the same family. The first creation came in 1712 in favour of Thomas Foley, who had earlier represented Stafford in the House of Co ...

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

in 1712. *

Edward Foley (1676–1747) Edward Foley (1676 – 4 April 1747) was an English Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1701 and 1741. Early life Foley was baptized on 23 September 1676, the second son of Thomas Foley of Whitley Court, ...

, twice MP for

* Richard Foley (1681–1732), MP for

in 1711–1732 * John Foley (drowned 1710) * Elizabeth Foley, sixth great-grandmother to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, who married Robert Harley, later

Lord Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...

and

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the 20th Earl in 1703. ...

* Anne Foley who married

Salwey Winnington Salwey Winnington (28 August 1666 – 6 November 1736), of Stanford Court, Worcestershire, was an English landowner and Member of Parliament (MP). Winnington was the eldest son of Sir Francis Winnington, a lawyer and politician who was Solicitor ...

* Sarah Foley who married Robert Harley's brother, Edward Harley MP. * Mary Foley who married Sir Blundel Charlton

References

*M. B. Rowlands, 'Foley family (per. c.1620–1716)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 2 March 2008
*''Burke's Peerage'' 1640s births 1701 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple British ironmasters High Sheriffs of Worcestershire

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1701 Members of the Parliament of England for Droitwich Members of the Parliament of England for Worcestershire {{18thC-England-MP-stub