Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Thomas Henry Foley, 4th Baron Foley of Kidderminster DL (11 December 1808 – 20 November 1869), was a British peer and Liberal politician. He held office in every Whig/Liberal government between 1833 and 1869.

File:2013 04 19 Whitly Court 03.jpg
Witley Court

Family and estate

Foley was the son of Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley, and Lady Lucy Anne FitzGerald. James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, and Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, were his maternal great-grandparents.

File:Mary Charlotte Howard, Lady Foley and her sister Eliza.jpg
His wife, Lady Mary Charlotte Howard (left), with her sister, Lady Eliza

Lord Foley married Lady Mary Charlotte Howard, daughter of Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, in 1849. He died in November 1869, aged 60, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Henry Foley. Lady Foley died in 1897.

In 1837, he sold Witley Court and the heavily encumbered Great Witley estate to trustees of Lord Ward for £890,000. No longer having to pay interest on the debts charged on that estate, he was left considerably better off, as a result of the sale.

Political career

He was elected to the House of Commons for Worcestershire in 1830, a seat he held until 1832, when he was returned for the newly created constituency of West Worcestershire. In April the following year he succeeded as fourth Baron Foley on the early death of his father and took his seat in the House of Lords. He also succeeded his father as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, despite being only 24 years of age.

He remained in this post until the government fell in 1834, and held the same office under Lord Melbourne from 1835 to 1841, under Lord John Russell from 1846 to 1852 and 1865 to 1866, under Lord Aberdeen from 1852 to 1855, under Lord Palmerston from 1859 to 1865 and under William Ewart Gladstone from 1868 to 1869. However, Lord Foley was never a member of the cabinet. Apart from his political career he was also Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire between 1837 and 1839.

References

  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
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External links

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Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Member of Parliament for Worcestershire
1830–1832
With: Henry Lygon 1830–1831
Frederick Spencer 1831–1832 Template:S-ttl/check 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire
1832–1833
With: Henry Lygon Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1833–1834 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1835–1841 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1846–1852 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
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of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1852–1858 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
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1859–1866 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
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Honorary titles
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire
1837–1839 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Baron Foley
2nd creation
1833–1869 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
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