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Paul Foley (ironmaster)

For other people named Paul Foley, see Paul Foley (disambiguation).

Speaker Foley

Paul Foley (1644/5 – 13 November 1699), also known as Speaker Foley, was the second son of Thomas Foley of Witley Court,[1] the prominent Midlands ironmaster.

Ironmaster

He took over his father's ironworks in and around the Forest of Dean in the early 1670s and continued them until 1685 when he let them to John Wheeler and Richard Avenant, who had managed ironworks for his brother Philip Foley. In 1692, the two brothers entered into a partnership with these managers and John Wheeler's brother, Richard. This lasted until after Paul's death.[2]

Gentleman

Stoke Edith House – built by Paul Foley.

Paul Foley had the resources from his father and the profits of his ironworks to buy himself a substantial estate around Stoke Edith in Herefordshire, part of which still belongs to a descendant. Important purchases included Stoke Edith from the trustees of Sir Henry Lingen in 1670 (made by his father),[3] and other property from Sir Thomas Cooke in 1683.[4] He rebuilt the house at Stoke Edith and laid out formal gardens and a park (which he had a royal licence to empark.[3][5]

Politician

Paul Foley was elected MP for Hereford in 1679. He was elected again for the same seat in 1689.[6] He actively campaigned for the exclusion of the Duke of York from the throne. He was imprisoned at the time of the Rye House Plot and again during the Monmouth Rebellion. However, James II later favoured him during his own later difficulties. During the reign of William III, he took an anti-court position, leading the "Country Whigs" faction with his nephew Robert Harley. During the early 1690s, he sat on several important Parliamentary committees, including being a commissioner of accounts. He was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on 14 March 1695,[7] a post he held until his death.[5] He was (like the Harleys and his elder brother Thomas) a Presbyterian and used his patronage rights in the Church of England to appoint clergy of that persuasion to churches.[8]

Family

He married Mary daughter of Alderman John Lane of London. Their eldest son was Thomas Foley. His younger son Paul,[1] was also briefly an MP.[6]

Arms

Coat of arms of Paul Foley
Crest
A lion rampant Argent holding between the fore-paws an escutcheon charged with the arms.
Escutcheon
Argent a fess engrailed between three cinquefoils Sable within a bordure of the last.
Motto
Ut Prosim [9][10]

References

  1. ^ a b Burke's Peerage
  2. ^ Schafer, R. G. (1971). "Genesis and Structure of the Foley 'Ironworks in Partnership' of 1692". Business History. 13: 19–38. doi:10.1080/00076797100000002.
  3. ^ a b Stoke Edith Park, Hereford, England. Parks and Gardens UK
  4. ^ Archenfield Archaeology Ltd, Swan House, Tarrington, Herefordshire: archaeological monitoring and building recording (2001), 5, citing Herefordshire Record Office, E12/IV/163/5 Archaeological Data Service.
  5. ^ a b Key, Newton E. "Foley, Paul (1644/5–1699)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2008 [1], accessed 1 September 2009
  6. ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
  7. ^ "House of Commons Journal Volume 11: 14 March 1695". Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 11, 1963–1967. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. British History Online. 14 March 1695. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  8. ^ Cliffe, John Trevor. The Puritan gentry besieged, 1650–1700 (1993), pp. 103–8.
  9. ^ Strong, George (1848). The Heraldry of Herefordshire: Being a Collection of the Armorial Bearings of Families Which Have Been Seated in the County at Various Periods Down to the Present Time. LONDON: Churton Press.
  10. ^ "Speaker Foley, 1695-1698". Baz Manning. September 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the House of Commons
1695–1698 		Succeeded by
Parliament of England
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Hereford
1679–1685
With: Bridstock Harford 1679–1681
Herbert Aubrey 1681–1685 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Hereford
1689–1699
With: Sir William Gregory 1689
Henry Cornewall 1689–1695
James Morgan 1695–1698
James Brydges 1698–1699 		Succeeded by
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