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Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley

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British peer and Liberal politician

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.

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.

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

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded byHenry Lygon
Sir Thomas Edward Winnington 		Member of Parliament for Worcestershire
1830–1832
With: Henry Lygon 1830–1831
Frederick Spencer 1831–1832 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire
1832–1833
With: Henry Lygon 		Succeeded byHenry Lygon
Henry Jeffreys Winnington
Political offices
Preceded byThe 3rd Lord Foley Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1833–1834 		Succeeded byThe Viscount Hereford
Preceded byThe Viscount Hereford Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1835–1841 		Succeeded byThe Lord Forester
Preceded byThe Lord Forester Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1846–1852 		Succeeded byThe Earl of Sandwich
Preceded byThe Earl of Sandwich Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1852–1858 		Succeeded byThe Earl Talbot
Preceded byThe Earl Talbot Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1859–1866 		Succeeded byThe Lord Ossulston
Preceded byThe Marquess of Exeter Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms
1868–1869 		Succeeded byThe Marquess of Normanby
Honorary titles
Preceded byThe Lord Lyttelton Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire
1837–1839 		Succeeded byThe Lord Lyttelton
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded byThomas Foley Baron Foley
2nd creation
1833–1869 		Succeeded byHenry Thomas Foley
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