Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley (24 June 1742 – 2 July 1793) of
Witley Court
Witley Court, in Great Witley, Worcestershire, England, is a ruined Italianate architecture, Italianate mansion. Built for the Baron Foley, Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the ...
in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
, was a British peer and politician who sat in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
from 1767 to 1777 when he was raised to the peerage.
Early life
Foley was born on 24 June 1742 as the eldest son of
Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley, and the former Hon. Grace Granville. His mother was the third daughter and co-heiress of
George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne
George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne PC (9 March 1666 – 29 January 1735), of Stowe, Cornwall, was an English Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1702 until 1712, when he was raised to the peerage as Baro ...
and Lady Mary Villiers (only daughter of
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey (165625 August 1711) was an Peerage of England, English peer, diplomat, courtier, and statesman of the Villiers family. He was created Baron Villiers and Earl of Jersey, Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of J ...
).
He was educated at
Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
from 1753 and matriculated at
Magdelen College, Oxford, in 1759.
Career

Foley was returned unopposed as
Member of Parliament for
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
at a by-election on 18 May 1767 and retained his seat at the
1768 general election. At the
1774 general election he was returned as MP for the family borough of
Droitwich until he succeeded to his father's peerage in 1777. Foley was a close friend of
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...
, and was a gambler.
Mrs Delany a society gossip, and cousin of Foley, wrote in 1773 "Mr. T. Foley has lost at Newmarket etc. fifty thousand pounds. He has now entered into an agreement with his father, that if he will pay his debts he will entirely leave off gambling." In November 1775
George Selwyn wrote "Old Foley pays another £70,000 of debt, and settles, I hear today, £4,000 in present upon his son, and £6,000 a year more at his death." He was appointed joint
Postmaster-General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters.
History
The practice of having a government officia ...
in 1783 for nine months.
[
]
Inheritance
The family estate at Stoke Edith had been entailed to Foley under his parents' marriage settlement, but both he and his next brother, Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, were profligate spenders. When his father paid Foley's debts in 1773 (mortgaging his estates), this Thomas conveyed his interest in the Stoke Edith
Stoke Edith is a village in the English county of Herefordshire, situated on the A438 road between Hereford and Ledbury. The population in 1801 of Stoke Edith parish was 332.
The 14th-century church of St Mary is a grade I listed building. ...
estate to his father. The father had also inherited, in 1766, the Great Witley estate from his cousin, the 2nd Lord Foley of the first creation. This enabled the father (in his will) to divide his estates between his three sons.
Thomas' share was the extensive Great Witley estate, but excluding the manor of Malvern and estates that his cousin had bought from Lord Montfort (which were included in Edward's share). However, this Thomas did not immediately become entitled to the estates, but only to an annuity. The balance of the income was applied to paying his debts. After his death in 1793, there were still unpaid debts, which the creditors exchanged for annuities terminating in 1808. By that time, his own son, also named Thomas, had come of age. In the meantime it had been necessary to obtain two private Acts of Parliament (in 1778 and 1796) to enable the trustees to make sales of parts of the estates, grant leases, and otherwise deal with the settled estate.
Thomas Foley was known to his contemporaries as "Lord Balloon", because of his girth. He was a friend of architect John Nash.
Personal life
On 20 March 1776, Foley married Lady Henrietta Stanhope (1750–1781), fourth daughter of William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington and the former Lady Caroline FitzRoy (eldest daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton). Together, they were the parents of two children:
* Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley (1780-1833), who married Lady Cecilia FitzGerald, fifth daughter of William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster and Hon. Emilia St George (only daughter and heiress of St George St George, 1st Baron St George), in 1806.
* Hon. Caroline Georgiana Harriet Foley (d. 1843), who married Christopher Bethell-Codrington, of Dodington Park, eldest son and heir of Edward Codrington by his wife Rebecca le Sturgeon, in 1796.
Lady Foley died on 2 January 1781 and was buried at Witley. He died on 2 July 1793. After Foley's death, his son Thomas commissioned Nash to add porticoes to the north and south sides of Witley Court
Witley Court, in Great Witley, Worcestershire, England, is a ruined Italianate architecture, Italianate mansion. Built for the Baron Foley, Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the ...
.[Bill Pardoe, ''Witley Court: Witley Court and Church: Life and luxury in a great country house'' (Peter Huxtable Designs Limited 1986), 4.]
References
;Notes
;Sources
External links
Foley, Thomas, (1742-1793), 2nd Baron Foley
at The National Archives (United Kingdom)
The National Archives (TNA; ) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, United K ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron
1742 births
1793 deaths
People from Malvern Hills District
People educated at Westminster School, London
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1761–1768
British MPs 1768–1774
British MPs 1774–1780
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 A ...
2
Politicians from Worcestershire