Thomas Foley of Stoke Edith

Stoke Edith

Stoke Edith is a village in the English county of Herefordshire, situated on a road leading from Hereford to Ledbury. The manor belonged formerly to the Wallwynes, Milwaters and Lingen families....

, Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

, was the eldest son Thomas Foley (auditor of the imprests)

Thomas Foley (auditor of the imprests)

Thomas Foley held the sinecure office of auditor of the imprests. He was the eldest son of Paul Foley, Speaker of the House of Commons and ironmaster, and succeeded to his estates around Stoke Edith, Herefordshire on his father's death in 1699.Thomas Foley was Member of Parliament for Hereford...

 and inherited his estates on his death in 1737. He represented Hereford

Hereford (UK Parliament constituency)

Hereford was, until 2010, a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1918, it had elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....

 in Parliament from 1734 to 1741, and Herefordshire

Herefordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

The county constituency of Herefordshire, in the West Midlands of England bordering on Wales, was abolished when the county was divided for parliamentary purposes in 1885...

 from 1742 to 1747.

He continued the family interest in ironmaking in the Forest of Dean

Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...

, initially in partnership with his father. However, in his time leases were not renewed as they expired, and the business declined to being a shadow of what it once had been.

He married five times. His eldest son was another Thomas Foley, who became the first Baron Foley

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 Commons. He was the grandson of the prominent ironmaster...

 of the second creation in 1776.

Sources

• Burkes Peerage